Yankumi’s Back!

Day Thirty Five.

It’s another day at the outside world and I’m looking forward to having my cheering-up routine: food, caffeine and of course, a movie. I’m not depressed or anything but reading too many Shoujo manga and watching romance dramas are starting to get to me. I’m beginning to get too emotional and I started reminiscing about past events in my life.(As you might have noticed on my previous post) So I needed to take my mind off of it. And what better way to take my mind off from romance than by watching a completely stupid comedy flick with zero love story! I’m talking about the latest Harold and Kumar movie! I didn’t watch the first one but I heard it was quite a hit so I’m going to give this one a try. Plus, I didn’t even know that John Cho is a good comedian. I’ve seen him in other movies but they were mostly very serious roles. So I’m really curious about this one.

But before we talk about the movie, let’s just go back to the romantic genre for a moment. I know, I said I want take my mind off this genre but I simply have to talk about the drama I watched this morning. I’m talking about the Proposal Daisakusen Special, shot in Hawaii! I’ve had this in my laptop for ages but I didn’t watch it because the video has really bad quality and it even has commercials. Plus, I thought of collecting all the specials first then once I have them all, I’m going to do a “Specials” marathon! I’m actually downloading the “Attention Please Australia Special” right now and I’m waiting for the “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Special”. Man, don’t you just love Jdramas!? Our dramas are short but the Specials sure are grand!

Anyway, this morning, I loaded an episode of Bleach on Veoh. I planned on watching it while eating breakfast. But when I played it, I only got an error message! So I had nothing to watch! And I can’t eat my breakfast without watching something at the same time! It’s one of my many weird qualities. I hate doing only one thing, I always have to do several stuff at the same time. (Like watching TV while eating, listening to some music while reading, eating while reading etc.) So I decided to just watch the Proposal Daisakusen Special. A part of me is glad that I did that but then another part of me regret it deeply.

So, what’s the special all about? Well this special picks-up right where the drama left-off. Remember that cliff-hanger scene at the end of the Proposal Daisakusen drama? You know, the part where Rei did a Mary Jane Watson. She ditched the groom and ran after Kenzo. Then at the end Kenzo turned around and smiled when he saw her and then…everything turned white. Man, was that frustrating or what? Good thing the Special is here! It started at that exact scene.

Okay, if this is a fairytale or a Shoujo manga, this is what would have happened: “Rei jumps into Kenzo’s arms with tears streaming down her cheek. She would then confess her love for him and Kenzo would hug her so tight as if he wouldn’t let go of her ever again. And then they would look at each other’s eyes and share a passionate kiss….And they will all live happily ever after…blahblahblah.”

Good thing this is not a fairytale because instead of that cheesy stuff that I just wrote, Rei and Kenzo actually exchanged wisecrack jokes then they started arguing. Only Rei and Kenzo would do that in this kind of situation! I mean, Kenzo just ruined a wedding with his speech and Rei just ran away from her groom! But instead of a romantic and teary reunion, they ended up bickering! That was priceless! And it actually makes sense! They’re bestfriends after all, not lovers! They’re used to bickering all the time so why should this time be any different? But I have to say one thing though, even though they were bickering and all, that scene at the beach was pretty darn romantic. I mean, Rei was wearing that gorgeous wedding gown and Kenzo was in a tux, then there was a beautiful sunset at the background and they were all alone. Anyone would think it would lead to a pretty romantic scene but instead, Rei lost her shoe and they quarreled even more. I guess that’s one of the things I love about their relationship. They’re simply not your ordinary couple. That’s also the kind of relationship I would love to have in the future. Hmmm, well Kazu and I never bickered though. Although he’s always telling me off when I’m being an idiot! Man, here I go again! Sorry, I couldn’t help it. These dramas are so contagious.

Anyway, aside from the continuation of the Kenzo and Rei love story, this special also focuses on Tsuru and Eri’s relationship. Tsuru was, after all, one of the main reasons why Kenzo finally got the courage to confess to Rei. I just adore Tsuru. His love for Eri is just so pure and amazing. In fact, if you ignore his height and lack of good looks, Tsuru is probably the most perfect boyfriend a girl could have. He’s devoted, completely loyal and would go through great lengths for the woman he loves! He’s always been open with his feelings and he’s never afraid to show Eri how much he loves her. He’s actually a lot like Night. He’s just so innocent, pure and fearless. And he was even more astounding in this Special! What he did for Eri in this Special is probably the sweetest thing a guy could do for a girl. I swear to God, when Kenzo played the tape that Tsuru recorded, I cried like a baby! And I don’t mean one glistening tear on the cheek, I mean actually sobbing with tears falling uncontrollably from my eyes! It was THAT touching! I think I even cried more than Eri did! If any guy would do something like that for me, I would probably be the happiest girl in the world. Tsuru, you’re the manliest man in the world! Too bad, Kenzo didn’t have as much guts as him!

Another thing I loved about this special was seeing Hiraoka Yuta play Mikio once again. The last time I saw Yuta, he was playing the role of the boring and stiff doctor in “First Kiss”. His character was so dull and wore very plain and boring clothes that Yuta seemed like a different person. He actually lost his charms. And what’s worse was that, it was that role that got stuck in my head. So whenever I think of Yuta, I always pictured that dull and boring guy. But now that he’s playing Mikio again, I could finally discard that other image of Yuta in my head. Mikio is just one of the supporting characters and didn’t have that much screen-time but I really love his personality! He’s smart, carefree and confident and of course he looked hot as hell! So now I’m back to being a fan of Yuta. Oh and on a completely unrelated note, I created a thread on a certain forum asking girls what their Perfect Boyfriend would be like. I posted pictures of some of the hottest young actors in Japan and the girls have to select which one of those guys is their ideal man in terms of looks. I tallied their votes last night and the one who got the most number of votes so far, was Yuta! Who would have thought?! He has beaten Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun, Yamapi, Tackey and all the other popular guys that I posted! Yay for him!

Okay, back to the Special. I’ve said earlier that I’m glad I watched this special but a part of me deeply regrets it. I’m glad I watched this because it erased all of my worries and left me feeling warm and fuzzy even though it was actually cold and raining so hard. It made me giggle like a school-girl and cry like a baby. And by the time I finished I had a huge smile on my face that I just couldn’t get rid of. This Special reminded me once again why I loved this drama in the first place. Proposal Daisakusen is probably one of the purest and most beautiful love stories I’ve ever seen. There’s just something about it that fills me with such joy and warmth. And it didn’t even have that many romantic scenes! Which is why I think this drama is amazing! It didn’t need tons of kissing scenes or intimate moments just to show how Ken and Rei or Tsuru and Eri love each other. You could simply feel the great connection between them. It’s actually mind-boggling. I guess, it’s all thanks to the brilliant cast and the wonderful wonderful music! Yes, the music is definitely one of the biggest factor. I actually think this series has one the best soundtracks I’ve heard so far. The main song is simply heart-warming and the background music just lifts my spirits. Even the alternative rock song played in the background while Kenzo was running is really good!

But the thing that made me regret watching this was the frustration I felt upon seeing again the great bond of friendship between Kenzo, Rei, Tsuru, Eri and Mikio. It’s hard to find true friends like them. And I’m saying that based on experience. Come to think of it, they all had very different personalities, but fate led them to meet each other and they formed an unbreakable bond of friendship. They met when they were, I think, in elementary and they’re still together until now that they are all professionals. It’s really astounding. I’m alright with living alone and having no friends but seeing a friendship like theirs makes me feel envious and frustrated. Another thing that makes me feel envious was seeing how much Kenzo and Tsuru love Rei and Eri. It must be great to be loved like that. ***sigh*** I’m getting emotional again. This wouldn’t have happened if I watched Bleach.

Anway, this drama left me with mixed emotions but I’m certainly glad that I watched it. Oh and Akira, the photographer in Hana Kimi made a short appearance here! She played the role of Tada-san’s bestfriend. Somehow, I couldn’t take her seriously because I kept picturing the wacky Akira of Hana Kimi. But Tada-san is certainly an amazing guy too. He’s probably the nicest person in the planet. But I kinda felt sorry for him. But having childhood friends sure gets complicated when you grow older. Good thing I got separated from my childhood friend when I went to Junior High because I was actually starting to have feelings for him then. Waaaah, here I go again! Stop reminiscing! Baka!!!!!! (–> talking to myself)

By the way, I’m writing this at a coffee shop while drinking yummy Mocha Vanilla Milkshake. (which I spilled all over the floor just now! I am such a klutz these past few weeks!) I’m headed to the movie theater after this so I’ll continue writing later…

AFTER A FEW DAYS…

Okay, this continuation is later than I expected. And guess what? I’m writing this in a coffee shop again! Anyway, so where was I? Oh right…after leaving the other coffee shop with an extremely embarrassed look on my face, I headed to the movie theater and watched Harold and Kumar 2. I didn’t know anything about the movie aside from the fact that it has John Cho and Kal Pen in it so I have no idea what to expect. Well, I did expect it to be a mindless comedy flick but I was wrong. There’s actually more to it than meets the eye. Yes, it’s a brutal type of comedy that uses harsh language, has lots of nudity and the script is composed mainly of the words: f*** and s***. But it also tells valuable lessons in a very entertaining way. It’s more like a funny documentary about racism and stereotypes. As I’ve mentioned before, I hate racists. My dad is one of the biggest racists in the planet and I really hate people like him. And this movie, surprisingly, makes fun of racists! It attacks them in a brutal way and shows how stupid they really are. I loved the movie Crash but that movie did not attack racism as hard as this movie did. I mean, that racist cop in Crash played by Matt Dillon is the nicest guy in the planet compared to the racist cop in this movie! Harold and Kumar 2 featured almost all of the racist crap that ever existed: KKK, pouring grape soda in front of some black guys, assuming an Asian guy is disabled just because his eyes look different from Americans, hiring a translator even though the Asian couple could obviously speak English, branding two innocent guys as terrorists just because of their ethnicity, and a lot more! This movie simply shows how simple-minded racists are! I especially loved what that Beecher character said to that irritating racist cop: “It’s because of people like you that everyone thinks that we Americans are stupid!” That line applies to everyone. No matter if your Asian, American, British, Arab etc. if you judge others based on the color of their skin, your not being patriotic, your just being plain stupid! Aside from making fun of racists, this movie also breaks-down the stereotypes. Like when the scary-looking black guys turned out to be really nice and helpful folks. Even the biggest and scariest one was actually a good-natured orthodontist. Then there’s the hillbilly stereotype given to the folks in the South. Most people think they’re stupid and unrefined. But the hillbilly couple here turned out to be very sophisticated and civilized. They live in a very plush manor, with the latest gadgets and they have very good table manners. (Although their son turned out to be an in-bred cyclops). President Bush was also featured here. Well, they did make fun of him here just like everyone else, with terrible vocabulary (”terrorizers”, “hypocritcize”) and a naughty secret den with his marijuana stash. But they did show a good side of him here when he told Harold and Kumar: “It doesn’t matter if you believe in your government. Hell, I’m in it and I still don’t trust it. What’s important is that you believe in your country.” (or something like that…)

Another thing I loved about this movie is the unique friendship between Harold and Kumar. Harold is the neat, uptight, worry-wart while Kumar is the messy, carefree guy with no worries at all. They’re complete opposites yet they remain loyal to each other through thick and thin. I’m a bit more like Harold so I envy Kumar quite a bit. I think life would be so much fun if you have a personality like his. Yes, he does get into loads of trouble because of his carefree attitude but it must be great to have no worries at all. He’s like a child who sees the good side of everything. He does whatever he wants without thinking of the consequences. Although I have to say, that flashback of Harold and Kumar’s college days was hilarious! Who would have thought that Kumar was actually a smart and uptight nerd who worships Doogie Howser and Harold was an emo-kid who wears black eyeliner and dark clothes. That was really funny!

Speaking of Doogie Howser, might I just say that Neil Patrick Harris was freakin’ awesome here! The critic from Movies.com was right, Neil Patrick Harris deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of himself. His character is probably the most memorable one in this movie and he certainly added an extra dose of comedy to this film!

All in all, I agree with all the critics. This movie really deserve the A+ and B+ ranking that they gave it! It’s funny, it’s educational and it’s brutally honest. It also have some very heart-warming scenes. Although I wouldn’t recommend it to kids and closed-minded people. Anyway, I loved it! Oh by the way, I was wrong about the zero-love story part. This movie also has a love story and quite a touching one too. I got a bit teary-eyed when Kumar recited his Arithmetic poem to stop the woman he loves from marrying a jerk. That was one of the cheesiest and strangest poem I’ve ever heard but it was really really sweet!

Anyway, after the movie, I went home and watched the episode 4 of Zettai Kareshi. Well, I didn’t quite like it because it was mostly about Night and Mika. It was also so different from the manga and I have to say, I like the manga version more! Episode 5 was really good though! Night is finally back in Rikko’s arms and he’s beginning to develop real human emotions! But I feel really sorry for Night because Riiko just couldn’t appreciate him no matter what he does.

Aside from Zettai Kareshi, I’ve started watching another drama and it’s none other than “Gokusen 3″! As you’ve noticed, I’m a huge Gokusen fan. After all, Yankumi is my user name here and also in various sites and forums. Plus, I also take pride in the fact that I have the same name as the lead character: “Kumiko”! I really love the first Gokusen because it has a very nice and inspirational story and a female lead with a very strong and unique personality. It also featured the talents of some of Japan’s finest young actors: Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun, Narimiya Hiroki and Ishigaki Yuma. It’s a wonderful and memorable drama and Japan just fell in love with it. The phenomenal ratings are proof of that! The second Gokusen is not so different from the first one. Almost all the things that happened in the first Gokusen were repeated in the second one. The only differences were the new students, new school, new co-teachers and a new love interest. But I still enjoyed watching it because the new batch of young actors were really entertaining. Like the first one, the second Gokusen showcased the talents of some of Japan’s most popular young actors including: Akanishi Jin, Kamenashi Kazuya, Koike Teppei and Zettai Kareshi’s Hayami Mokomichi. Of course the first one is still the best but Gokusen 2 also has it’s own charms and it’s actually more hilarious. So since I fell in love with both Gokusen dramas, I had high expectations for the third one.

Well, Gokusen 3 still follows the same path taken by its predecessors. It still has the same story and a lot of similar characters and events. Yankumi, is still the determined teacher from a yakuza family, she still has to teach a class 3-D filled with juvenile delinquents and she once again developed a huge crush on a cute guy whom she met by accident (I forgot his name but he’s the playboy pilot on Attention Please). It’s almost exactly the same aside from the fact that they added new twists and new actors. Like in that opening scene where they showed a classroom full of troublemakers with weird hairstyles, someone wearing a red jersey and white sneakers suddenly showed up. Looks familiar and predictable right? Well, guess again because it wasn’t Yankumi! I fell off my seat because of laughing too hard when I saw the face of that person! (You have to watch it to know who I’m talking about) Also in that scene where Yankumi was on top of a hill and preaching to her students about important life lessons in a very silly and exaggerated manner, I thought it would be a repeat of that scene in Gokusen 2 where her students turned out to be little kids. Well, I was wrong! The scene was exactly the same but they added a twist too. I guess that’s their only way of spicing it up this season a bit. They showed familiar scenes but they changed something about them. So just when I thought I know what’s going to happen next, I ended up being surprised. That was a good move but a very safe one too. They know that if they keep on repeating the same stuff, people would get bored but if they change too much, people might not like it as much as they liked its predecessors. So because they’re afraid of taking a huge risk, they repeated the scenes from the previous seasons and only changed some parts of them.

But the one thing I hate about Gokusen 3 are the new students of class 3-D. They just seem pretty ordinary compared to the previous cast. They also do not have the same-screen presence that the previous students have. I also do not think that the two main guys: Miura Haruma and Takaki Yuya have what it takes to fill the shoes of Matsumoto Jun/Oguri Shun or Akanishi Jin/ Kamenashi Kazuya. First of all, I don’t think they have the looks AND the acting skills to play such roles. They looked like they were trying too hard to be badass and it just didn’t look natural. It simply looked weird. Plus instead of looking cool in their wild hairstyles, they looked kinda silly. They just don’t fit their roles and they simply can’t measure-up to their predecessors. I wish they did a better job with the casting because this is pretty disappointing especially with Takaki Yuya. I really find him annoying in this drama. His eyes are expressionless and whenever he’s trying to act cool or badass he ended up having some sort of distorted facial expression that’s quite irritating to look at. It even made me flinch sometimes. I’m sorry if I offended some Yuya fans out there but that’s just how I felt. I just think that his hairstyle doesn’t suit him, his role doesn’t suit him and his performance is horrible! Plus he’s trying too hard to imitate Shin!

But as I watched the third episode of Gokusen 3, I began to warm-up to the new guys. I guess they’re not that irritating when they’re not trying to be badass. Now that they’re good to Yankumi, they all started to look a bit okay to me.

Nakama Yukie, on the other, seems like she didn’t age a day. She looks exactly the same as she did when the first Gokusen started. And her performance is almost exactly the same too. Although she is still the same Yankumi that we all loved, they started to show some of her minor flaws this season. (Like when she started comparing her new students to her former students.) But those flaws were immediately corrected by her very supportive grandfather. I think that’s one part of Yankumi that I don’t like that much. She’s just too morally perfect. She doesn’t have much room for improvement in terms of her personality. I mentioned before in my Nodame Cantabile review (it’s on my multiply site) that I love the characters of Nodame Cantabile because they’re all imperfect. They have flaws and weaknesses and they slowly started to change as the series progressed. But Yankumi’s character cannot evolve anymore because she doesn’t have any real flaws and weaknesses. I hope they would be able to change that this season.

Anyway, Gokusen 3 may be exactly the same as it’s predecessors (except from the disappointing new cast) but Yankumi still has new lessons to teach to today’s youth. It’s alright to keep repeating things in every season because she’s teaching those lessons to a new generation of viewers. In this series, she started with the lesson of friendship because unlike in the first two Gokusen, the students in class 3-D in season 3 were not close friends. Other than being delinquents with no respect to the teachers and elders, they also did not care about each other at all. At least in the previous two seasons the guys in Class 3-D always sticked together. So Yankumi must now find a way to unite her new students. It was great at first but then she was able to immediately fix that problem on the second episode. So now it’s back to being exactly the same as the previous seasons. Episode three was even similar to an episode in season 1 where Kuma was accused of stealing a DVD when it was actually a student from a prestigious school who did it.

Oh well, I’m still not sure whether I like this season or not. But one thing’s for certain, I’m still a loyal Gokusen fan and I’m going to watch this until the very end. I guess no matter how many times they copy the scenes from the previous two seasons of Gokusen, it would still have the same effect on me. I still get goosebumps whenever Yankumi shows up to save her students, I still get teary-eyed whenever she says something touching and I still get extremely annoyed whenever her students act like jerks.

Moving on, the other day while I was surfing the net, I stumbled upon a somewhat new Asian movie called “Kung Fu Dunk”. I had goosebumps all over my body when I read that it’s based on the popular anime/manga: “Slam Dunk”. I was a huge fan of Slam Dunk! And I mean the obsessive, screaming kind of fan! I just loved the manga and the anime so much! In fact, it’s the only sports anime that I ever obsessed about. This may seem freakishly fan-girlish but I used t o scream “Rukawa! Rukawa!” whenever the guys from Shohoku were playing basketball. I bet, I’m worse than those cheerleaders who were always following Rukawa around. I collected all their dvds, I had Slam dunk wallpapers, posters, action figures, keychains etc. So I couldn’t believe that it now has a live-action movie! And to top it all off, the lead characters are played by two of my favorite Taiwanese and Chinese actors, Jay Chou and Charlene Choi!

Kung Fu Dunk is a fun action-filled movie that combines my two favorite sports: basketball and kung fu! It’s the story of a young man named Fang Shie Jie (Jay Chou) who was abandoned by his parents and left beside a basketball court when he was still a baby. The master of a Kung Fu school took him in and so he grew-up to be a very skilled kung-fu fighter. But even with his great strength and skills Shi Jie is very unpopular with girls that’s why he was contented in just looking at his dream-girl, Li-li (Charlene Choi), from afar. One day, a sly old hustler named Wang Li saw Shi Jie’s skills and asked him to join the basketball team of First University. The team was headed by Ting Wei (Wilson Chen), the reckless and hot-tempered older brother of Li-li. But Shi Jie’s biggest rival is the cool and popular ace player, Xiao Lan (Baron Chen), who’s also Li-li’s idol.

Although based on the Japanese manga, Slam Dunk, “Kung Fu Dunk” is a lot more like the Stephen Chow movie “Shaolin Soccer”. It’s filled with fun and exaggerated scenes that are commonly found in Stephen Chow films. Plus it applies kung fu techniques to playing sports. The only similarities that this movie have with the manga are the characters and some aspects of the story.

Just like in the manga, Jay Chou’s character, Shi Jie, is also a silly loser who’s very unpopular with girls and has been rejected by them several times. He’s also in-love with the younger sister of the basketball team captain and his rival is the popular ace player whom his dream-girl idolizes.

But aside from those things, this movie is really very different from the manga. For one thing, the characters in the movie look nothing like the ones in the manga. Come on, Sakuragi is a tall red-haired moron! Jay Chou look nothing like him! He look more like Rukawa to me! He’s hot, has dark hair, pale skin and dreamy eyes. Plus instead of being a hot-tempered and stupid gang leader like Sakuragi, Shi Jie is the silent, innocent and eccentric type of guy. I actually adore his character! He’s carefree, clueless and is almost as innocent as a child. Just like Sakuragi, he often got dumped by girls but Shi Jie was so clueless in love that he actually thought those girls were willing to die for him! Just like a little kid, he’s also a bit naive hence he was easily tricked by Wang Li. He also loves ice cream and claps his hands in an adorable manner. He doesn’t talk that often and his face always look sleepy. He’s like a nicer, sweeter and more innocent Rukawa! My favorite line that he said was when he told Li-li: “When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to eat ice cream. So now, I would do anything just to have ice cream! You (Li-li) and ice cream…no difference.” That was just so sweet and funny. It’s like one of those things that a seven year-old would say to his first crush while they ‘re in the playground. He’s just so honest and earnest!

As for the other characters, they’re not much like their anime counterparts either, unlike the bubbly and cheerful Haruko, Li-li was a bit quiet and nerdy. Her brother was a hot-tempered and rugged alcoholic unlike the uptight and well disciplined Akagi-sempai. And Xiao Lan was bit arrogant-looking and sentimental unlike the silent and non-caring Rukawa.

Although, I was a bit disappointed that this movie was so different from the manga, I still found it really entertaining. Well, it’s a kung fu movie with Jay Chou in it! What more could I ask for? Jay Chou is simply amazing in every movie that he’s in! He was so cool in “Initial D”(another manga-inspired movie), his performance was flawless in the “Curse of the Golden Flower” and I was completely in love with him in Kung Fu Dunk! He’s just so adorable here! I mentioned before that I was freakishly fan-girlish when it comes to watching Rukawa in Slam Dunk. Well, I’m even more fan-girlish while watching Jay Chou in Kung Fu Dunk. I was yelling his name over and over while watching his basketball games and fight-scenes! And speaking of fight-scenes, I’ve never seen Jay Chou in a Kung fu movie before so I was so thrilled to see him fighting in this movie! And he looked so darn cool! I know he’s no Jet Li, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee but he certainly looked cool while fighting! He looked like he was break-dancing! I really love seeing him fight! He should definitely make more kung-fu movies because it really suits him! He looked like a young Bruce Lee! Plus he was so funny! I especially loved the part where he clapped his hands after beating all the bad guys! That was priceless!

Well, Kung Fu Dunk, may not be perfect but it was surely worth watching! It was hip, fun and extremely entertaining. The music and special effects were good and the actors all the did a great job. The script is a bit mediocre though and the plot was a bit pointless and nonsensical at times. But it didn’t matter. I didn’t watch this to be impressed, I watched this to have fun and it certainly was fun! Plus, Jay Chou’s charms won my heart again!

By the way, I’ve seen almost all of Jay Chou’s movies but I didn’t know anything about him in terms of his singing career. So I decided to do a bit of research and I even watched some his videos. I was really surprised to see how versatile he is a singer and song writer. He sings all types of songs: hiphop, RnB, alternative, ballads and he even raps! It’s unbelievable! And he looks like a different person in each video. In his video for “A Secret I can’t keep” he’s like this emo rockstar. He’s playing the guitar and the piano and he has a band and all. He was so good! Then I checked out his other videos, in some he’s like this RnB prince wearing flashy suits and surrounded by hot girl then in another videos he’s this hiphop guy wearing baggy clothes and even break-dances. Then he’s suddenly this romantic guy singing a ballad to a pretty girl in another while in the OST of Fearless he’s a guy wearing a funny costume complete with black eyeliner and doing weird dance moves. I just couldn’t decide which one is the real him. He just has so many different looks and identities. It was astounding! But my personal favorite among all his music videos is “Twilight Chapter Seven”. It’s a 9-minute video but it’s totally worth watching! It’s like watching a mini-movie! It’s strange, unique, spine-tingling and has that somewhat ghostly feel to it! It also looks like a modern version of the movie: “From Hell”. You know, the one with Johnny Depp as a detective investigating the series of murders caused by Jack the Ripper. Well, Jay Chou is the Johnny Depp of this music video masterpiece! It’s just so clever and creative! I love it! Plus he produced, directed and starred in it! He even designed the costumes! Is there anything this guy can’t do? Sorry, I’m blabbing again! I just get too talkative whenever I’m in fan-girl mode. And Jay Chou is the first actor who impressed me this much! His achievements are simply amazing!

Oh well, I guess I’ve said enough for one entry. By the way, I’m headed to the movie theater right now to watch the latest Indiana Jones movie. But I’ll talk about that some another time. By the way, if anyone is reading this, I need your opinion on something. You know that I’m hopeless and clueless when it comes to dealing with other people so I have no idea what happened to this online friend of mine. You see, I have an online buddy who’s also a fellow otaku. We talked about anime stuff all the time on forums. One time, he complimented me on something I wrote and I took the time to thank him for his compliment. But somehow it scared him away and he never talked to me again. Could thanking someone really scare them away? If yes, why? Well, I have a habit of thanking people who does nice things for me like if they complimented my work or commented on my posts. Is that really bad? Please help. I’m really clueless.

End of Day Thirty-Five.