Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Jdrama Review: Algernon ni Hanataba wo

It's been awhile since I have last done a Japanese drama review and this time I'm reviewing yet again another drama starring Yamapi. Since I have reviewed all his other dramas from when I first started this blog, I thought why not let the tradition continue? lol. But this time it'll be a little different because I'll actually be doing a FULL drama review whereas in the past I have only done episode reviews of just my highlights of the first few episodes and random thoughts as I was still watching the drama. This time I decided to wait until I finish watching all the episodes before I do a full review on the drama. 

And because this drama is actually too good to not write a review on. It has been one of the BEST Yamapi dramas I have seen in years since Nobuta wo Produce which was the drama that got to become a Yamapi fan. I am beyond impressed with Yamapi's acting in this drama and I'm so glad that he took on such a challenging role. He proved that he can be a better actor and this is the first time I ever felt that I'm watching a Yamapi drama where I actually enjoy and anticipate to watch the next episode because I'm curious to know what will happen. To be honest, his past dramas such as Ending Planner, Monster, SUMMER NUDE had rather plain story plots and his characters are more or less the same that they didn't interest me and the only reason why I was still watching them was because Yamapi was in it and I just wanted to stare at his pretty face, lol. 

But this drama is different! Everything about it is superb. The drama script, the story line, the actors in it, the acting and everything is just amazing! And it's the first time I felt in years that I'm actually watching Yamapi act in a character role and not as himself. Yamapi has always been known as the actor with an expressionless face or what the fandom calls "dead fish eye" in which he shows no expressions through his eyes. But in this drama he's different. He shows expressions through his eyes and he also shows so much more expressions that I have never seen him act before. I think the problem with his character roles in his past dramas is that they are too similar to his real personality. Yamapi has also mentioned many times in TV interviews that he's a very boring person in real life and I agree, LOL! So it is only when he is given a character that is complete opposite of himself that he can fully study the character and find ways to act it out and make it more three dimensional. And I know for a fact that Yamapi's true passion isn't in acting, it's singing and music. So perhaps that's why he didn't put too much thought in his past character roles.  



Drama synopsis: Shiratori Sakuto is 28, but has the intelligence of a 6-year-old boy. He works for Dream Flower Service, a flower distribution centre which provides employment for problem youth. Sakuto's father passed away when he was only 15 and he was left behind for care by the owner of the Dreams Flower Service who is a great friend of his father. His father and him separated from his mother and younger sister because Sakuto's mother could not accept a mentally disabled son as she hate stupid kids and Sakuto has not seen his mother since then. One day, he and a colleague, Yanagawa Ryuichi, delivers a rose bouquet to the apartment building where Mochizuki Haruka lives and who Sakuto later have romantic feelings for. Haruka works for a brain physiology research centre where Professor Hachisuka Daigo has been studying the improvement of mental performance. He has succeeded in lab experiments on a white mouse called Algernon. Sakuto meets Algernon by chance and because of this coincidence Sakuto is chosen as a patient to undergo surgery and transformed to become a genius. Sakuto has always had a dream of becoming smarter because he wishes to see his mother again and be liked by her. But the super intelligent transformation of Sakuto did not seem to make life better for him as he has imagined it would but instead he goes through some major life changes of experiencing pain and sorrow.  

Before the air of this drama, there has been critics online of people doubting Yamapi's capability to take on such a challenging role and make it believable given his past acting and drama history and I can say he proved these people wrong. Surely, even I as a fan myself for almost 10 years didn't expect his acting to turn out to what it was. Yamapi really poured out his heart to act this role and he worked hard and put many thoughts into it that he even visited a facility of the mentally disabled to spend time with them to help prepare for his role. So yes, Yamapi may not be known as a great actor, but I feel like some people should just let go of their hate/dislike for him and watch how well he can perform this role as it really is a very great and touching drama with an inspirational message. 

Okay, enough of my rambles, let's get on to the review. I'm doing a review based on my favourite scenes from the drama and my thoughts on them. 

Note: This review may contain spoilers for the drama, read at your own discreet.



This is one of the very first scene of the drama and it is also one of the most important scenes to the whole drama itself. I cannot explain how brilliantly done this scene was. Sakuto is in a car with his colleague, Yanagawa, and they drive pass a kid who is spotted walking with his mother holding a yellow balloon. Sakuto notices them ahead and he smiles happily in the car watching from afar when suddenly the balloon flew away from the child's hand and Sakuto watches the balloon fly up in the sky from the car window. He reminiscence about a similar memory he had when he was a kid and recalls a sad past experience with his mother. The way how the scene was shot along with the flashback of Sakuto's memory from his past was like a scene from a fairy tale book. Yamapi's reaction of seeing the balloon and his hand movement as he watches the balloon fly into the sky and wishes to reach for it was done perfectly. It totally depicts that child-like image of a child seeing cotton candy for the first time as he gazes over the sky of a flying airplane. 



This is the scene of Sakuto meeting Haruka for the very first time when he delivers a bouquet of flowers to her apartment. I just find it soooooo cute how Sakuto was peeking through the eye hole on the door. So silly and adorable like something a 6 year old child would do! XD 

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Outfit: White Panel Sleeve Shirt + Top of the Rock Tee




Another outfit I put together featuring a more edgy style for fall. I got a compliment from a co-worker at work a week ago when I wore this. Wearing a black t-shirt that I got from Top of the Rocks at the Rockefeller Centre in New York City. White long-sleeve organza-panel long shirt from YesStyle. Cross bandage tights from YesStyle. Wedge sneakers from Ardene

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Outfit: Off-Shoulder Tie-Sleeve Top

Today is the first day of fall and I have been waiting for fall to arrive for so long! Summer was good but I have never really been a summer person, especially when it comes to fashion because I simply LOVE layering and it is often too hot to wear layers of clothes in the summer. So I'm very excited for fall to come because I can now wear my fall jackets and coats and sweaters and wear different tights and stockings to match with my outfits. Fall also allows to wear my tattoo tights more often and here's an outfit I put together featuring one of my favourite pair of tattoo tights. 




Outfit details:

Bowler hat from eBay

Off-shoulder tie-sleeve blouse from YesStyle

Skirt from H&M
Jewelry design tattoo tights from eBay
Boots from YesStyle



A few weeks ago, I was so excited for fall that I started making a list of different outfits with clothes that I have in my wardrobe. A lot of the times, I often buy clothes home and somehow end up not wearing them because 1) I either have nothing to match them with 2) I simply forget that I even have them in my closet. So a few weeks ago, while I was still rearranging the new furnitures I got for my room and organizing all my stuff, I also decided to reorganize my closet and pack away all my summer clothes. I realized that I actually have soooo many basic items that I can work with to incorporate into many different outfits. I came up with a list of over 20+ different outfits that I can wear and now I don't think I need to even shop for new clothes, lol. But of course, I will still shop for newer style of clothes that I do not own from time to time. XD But my main focus is to try to save money and work with what I already have. I also realize as I get older, my personal style has just become more "simple" and I prefer to buy more classic piece items where I can mix and match with easily to wear them over and over again as oppose to buying one time items that are only good to wear for certain occasions. Sometimes a basic item is all that you need to make an outfit work and I keep reminding myself whenever I go shopping now that I need to shop for more basic and timeless classic items that can be worn throughout time and still be stylish and fashionable. 

Saturday, September 12, 2015

MURA Antique Shop in Harajuku

I apologize for the lack of updates recently for those who have been visiting my blog and finding no new blog posts. I am still extremely busy organizing and rearranging a lot of stuff in my room that I have no time to sit down and write a new blog post. I am almost done though and maybe I can even do a blog post later to show you my newly decorated room with the new furnitures that I got. Anyway, since we're on the topic of home decor, I thought it'd be the perfect time for me to blog about this really amazing antique home decor shop I came across during my Tokyo trip in Harujuku called MURA. It is actually located on the same street of the Q-pot Cafe (which I will blog about the cafe later in another post) and I am sooooo in love with this shop. I wish I had bought more things from the place but now that will give me an excuse to go back and shop there again on my next Tokyo trip! XD 












There were a lot of really cute and pretty home decor, jewelry, and lights that you can buy at the shop. I bought one of the white antique style mirrors in the last picture above. It actually flips and is a two-sided mirror with a different design on each side. I will show a more detailed picture of it on my drawer table later when I do a room tour. My friend bought a necklace and a really cute tote bag from the shop. Taking pictures inside the shop was actually not allowed, like most places in Japan. -___- But I managed to snap a few pictures of the shop before I got stopped and told off by one of the staffs there. One of the most annoying things you'll encounter in Japan is you will never be able to take pictures inside a shop without getting told later that you're not allowed to do so. Japan is such a strict and discipline country! I like to snap pictures of EVERYTHING whenever I am on vacation so it's a bit hard to get rid of the habit when I'm caught in the action of doing it, lol. 
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