#Naoki acting too funny to not teasing him with that

[waivyjellyfish]

Day 18 - Swap (gender-swap check)

Ryoga has a congenital ability to exchange sex and he and Mika use it constantly to joke with the household. Often annoys Naoki as a brother-peer at first, and as the one who got the beautiful father's (and aunt) genetics in the form of large boobs at second.

So Ryoga spends most of his time in gloves.

Fun fact: Mina was very worried about what names to give her children at the beginning, because Royga's ability started working from the moment of the complete formation of the infants bodies in her belly (the last two weeks of pregnancy), and babies before and after birth were constantly switched their sex with each other, until they started acting more separately from each other. + In fact, before the manifestation of Ryoga's abilities they were both sexless(as all newborn slimes), and the ability mixed something in them and in the end their bodies can change as all slimes do, but cannot return to the original sexless form.

[blackstonesandtrapnest]

NANA Characters in Quarantine

I was inspired to write this since I had to go under quarantine earlier this month due to coming in close contact with a co-worker who tested positive for COVID. I returned to work this week and I’m doing just fine! If you wish for me to do this with one of the fandoms on my list, then feel free to request it!

~~Nana Osaki~~

Does NOT handle quarantine well at first. Being unable to sing makes her jittery and cranky! Will literally rant and rave to anyone who listens and she’ll do that for hours!

But once she gets all of the frustration out of her system, Nana will come up with ways to make the best of the lockdown. Surprise, surprise, they’re mostly music based!

Will use this opportunity to come up with new material and has video calls every night with the band to discuss it. They’re not gonna sit around and be lazy when they could be getting creative as far as she’s concerned!

If she’s with her S/O or Ren during the quarantine, then it’ll make things much better for Nana since she’ll have someone always around to talk to and just share company with! Cuddles! Lots of cuddles! Just don’t tell anyone though.

If Nana is alone during lockdown, then her anxiety will definitely spike and she’ll have panic attacks more often. When that happens, she’ll usually call or text someone while using the paper bag method to keep herself calm.

~~Nana Komatsu~~

Is pretty bummed about the lockdown but doesn’t want to complain and prefers to make the best of it instead. Will definitely be talking Nana down and off the ledge when she gets too annoyed.

Decides to make BLAST and Trapnest masks to sell online which become extremely popular much to her delight. Yes the bands approve and yes Hachi is making masks for them!

Is the most likely to gain weight during lockdown. Will look up recipes online and try them out which is the cause of said weight gain. Hachi loves food after all!

You can definitely expect to see Hachi on social media a lot and it’ll be her main way of keeping in contact with her friends and family. Livestreaming and making cooking videos will definitely keep Hachi occupied alongside her mask business!

If Hachi is with her S/O, she’ll definitely be doing many things with them and trying to make them a part of her videos which will be very cute and adorable! Awwwww!

~~Nobu Terashima~~

Takes the lockdown quite well. He’s pretty introverted so being alone and isolated for a while doesn’t affect him as much as others.  

Uses the free time to write songs and new material just like Nana and they call every day with new pieces and ideas.

Spends a lot of time on social media and donates to a lot of humanitarian causes, persuading fans of BLAST to do the same which always succeeds.

Will gladly fight anyone who thinks the pandemic is a hoax, is an anti-masker, or just don’t wanna obey guidelines. You’re not gonna get other people sick on Nobu’s watch!

Likes to livestream and play music for his fans whether it be covers or original material. Hachi is one of his mods and his biggest supporter.

~~Shinichi Okazaki~~

The lockdown affects his living as a gigolo (if he still does it by then) so you’re damn right Shin doesn’t like it! He hates being restricted and you can expect long-winded debates between him and Nobu on how the pandemic should be handled.

If Shin has an S/O and is with them during lockdown, they can expect a lot of sex and overall intimacy! No one is surprised if Shin ends up getting said S/O pregnant. If he’s gonna be cooped up in the house for a while, then he could at least get some action out of it!

Is lazy AF during lockdown and isn’t interested in music or social media. In fact, don’t expect to hear from Shin during quarantine at all. Everyone has to initiate contact with him first and yes it pisses them off.

The only way to get Shin to do something productive is if his S/O threatens to cut him off sexually and goes through with it. He’ll do anything to get some WAP! Speaking of which, expect to see Shin dancing to music and expect to hear it playing a lot.

The only social media posts Shin will be making is photos of him and his S/O as well as getting on Nobu’s nerves. Shin gets tons of followers because of his looks but his heart is for his S/O only and he proudly displays that!

~~Yasu Takagi~~

Anticipated the lockdown and went shopping beforehand. He’s always prepared.

With an S/O, Yasu will use this opportunity to get closer to them and have deep conversations that can last for hours. Also lots of cuddles and affection! Yasu’s S/O will definitely be spoiled!

Yasu will be working from home so expect to see him on his laptop a lot. He will be doing video calls frequently with BLAST and upper management at Gaia as well as his law firm if he’s still a lawyer.

Likes to binge-watch YouTube videos and browse on Reddit. He likes to interact with his favorite YouTubers and give advice on Reddit like the kind person he is. Yasu will also donate to humanitarian causes like Nobu does.

Acts as the peacemaker during arguments between Nobu and Shin. Will also calm Nana down if her anxiety flares up. Got any problems? Call Yasu! He’s always available!

~~Ren Honjo~~

Gives no shits about the lockdown and is zen AF. He has to stay inside for a while? Ok!

Is mostly gonna spend the days in bed with his S/O (if they’re with him) and just wants to be close to them. Sleeping is Ren’s best friend!

If Ren is still using drugs, then he’s gonna be unbearable to be around since this means he’ll have to go through withdrawal and will have no way to get the drugs.

Will be unreachable during lockdown if he’s with his S/O. They come first as far as he’s concerned and he wants to make up for lost time with them as much as possible.

Will play music just to brush up on his guitar skills. May join Nobu on one of his livestreams every now and then and play with him as well as chat with fans.

~~Reira Serizawa~~

Has the same reaction as Nana when it comes to the lockdown and has bitching sessions with her about it too. Everyone is annoyed (except Shin) and if anyone tries to interrupt, they get bombarded by Reira and Nana to the point of not being able to get a word in.

Is bored AF and literally doesn’t know what to do with her time. Calls everyone and annoys the hell out of them to the point where they block her number. Reira just wants some company! 🙁

Spends the most time on social media out of everyone and mostly sings songs for her fans. Yes she takes requests and yes she gets a lot of them. Joins Nobu on his livestream whenever Ren is present and provides the vocals for their music. It instantly goes viral as one would expect.

If Reira has an S/O, they can definitely expect her to be clingy and trying to always have their attention. If they’re working from home and have to do video chats, Reira will definitely be in the background and will bring you things if you ask. She may or may not be appropriately dressed.

Loves to listen to other musicians on Spotify and will shout them out and uplift them. If anyone sings a cover of one of Trapnest’s songs, Reira will cry with joy and happiness!

~~Takumi Ichinose~~

Takes the lockdown in stride surprisingly enough. He doesn’t want to risk getting sick nor does he want his bandmates getting sick.

Decides to relax more instead of working which shocks most people. If Takumi has an S/O, he’ll want them to stay with him but if they can’t, he’ll settle for calls and texts.  

Sex, sex, and more sex! His S/O will definitely be worn out unless they have a high sex drive and if they get pregnant, Takumi will be happy and expects it to happen unless you use birth control.

Likes to try new challenges and will have a YouTube channel dedicated to that. Such content includes eating a Carolina Reaper pepper, drinking very strong cocktails, and gaming-related challenges. Yes Takumi is a gamer and his rage is legendary.

Does weekly video calls with the band to make sure they’re taking care of themselves and staying safe. No one’s getting sick on his watch!

~~Naoki Fujieda~~

Hates the restrictions and whines about being stuck in the house all day, everyday. He wants to have fun damn it!

Will do anything and everything to keep himself busy and if he has an S/O with him, they’ll be dragged into it too! Naoki doesn’t want you to be bored!

Will do challenges with Takumi and plays video games a lot whether it’s by himself, with his S/O, or with Takumi. His livestreams are a riot and there’s plenty of laughter to be had, especially if Takumi is present.

Likes to upload skits and rants that become quite popular due to how funny and true they are. Also gives advice to people which actually works and makes their lives better.

Always makes sure his appearance is on point and likes to promotes fashion brands, ideas, and trends. Naoki loves beautiful things so expect to see a lot of pics of just that!

~~Junko and Kyosuke~~

Kyosuke takes the lockdown in stride while Junko panics. Junko ends up furloughed (she’s a salesperson) so she worries about finances.

Kyosuke comes up the idea of doing art commissions for money and it becomes a huge success. Junko decides to join in and also makes and sells masks with Hachi.

Their sex life becomes much more active during lockdown and it’s quite noticeable with how relaxed Junko is. Teasing them about this will just make Junko act like a tsundere and Kyosuke act smug.

They network with other artists worldwide and become quite involved, especially in the black community.

Kyosuke watches various livestreams while Junko sticks to services like Netflix and Hulu. Kyosuke is a mod for Hachi’s livestreams and Junko catches up on her favorite shows while live-tweeting with fellow fans of said shows and having discussions.

[rubycafee]

( ☂️ ) - ENHYPEN AS NANA CHARACTERS ;

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ jungwon as yasushi takagi ;

yasushi takagi commonly known by his nickname yasu, is the drummer & leader in the punk band, Black Stones. he handles most of the business in the band, he's a very trustworthy and caring person. He is probably the most selfless, mature, and thoughtful person of the main cast. jungwon is the leader of enhypen, he is so caring for his members, and very trustworthy, he won't be the leader if he was not, also jungwon is very mature for his age, he makes good decisions, just like yasu, jungwon's dedicated to bringing people together and doing what’s right, he is also loyal and reliable person who enhypen can depend on, he is the one who keeps enhypen together. yasu is the one who created black stones, he is the one who brought them together, he is the one who led them to popularity as well.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ heeseung as reira serizawa ;

to fans, reira is the archetypal idol: beautiful, charming and possessing a good voice. however, to her circle of friends, she's probably just as well known for being somewhat naive, overwhelmingly friendly, throwing child-like tantrums and making questionable demands. together with naoki fujieda, she's Trapnest's main source of laughter.

heeseung is the ace of enhypen ( in my opinion ), he has both skills and visuals ( all of enhypen to be honest ). just like reira, he has a heavenly voice that make everyone happy, honestly, I could listen to his voice all the day without getting tired of it, he is also the fake maknae of enhypen, as he acts like a child sometimes, he makes us laugh all the time, but he is serious when he needs to be. there's not a single ep of en-o'clock that heeseung didn't make us laugh or smile at least once. heeseung & reira have amazing vocals, both of them are the aces of their groups, and they are really funny.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ jongseong as nana osaki ;

nana may look like a tough goth-punk rocker, but she has a kind heart and is a devoted friend. the first time i've seen jay, i thought this guy looks like the cold and mysterious guy in teen series, he really gave me that impression, but as i kept watching enhypen's vids, I discovered that he was so sweet and gentle, he really cared for his members and he takes good care of them all the time.

despite the hardships that they faced, they never gave up on their dreams, as nana became the lead vocalist of blast and jay making it to the finals of i-land and joing enhypen, the both of them want to make it big enough that the whole world know their names and they are working really hard on it.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ jaeyun as ren honjo ;

ren honjo is an ex-member of Black Stones who is currently a guitarist for Trapnest. ren is relaxed and open about many things; this makes it easy for people to share their secrets with him. in weekly idol, jungwon chose jake as his father, because jake was so understanding and a good listener, he said also that he feel comfortable talking to jake about anything.

though he projects a hard exterior on the outside, ren is quite sensitive and kind-hearted, jake is also very kind and caring, he takes care of his dongsaengs and always play with them, he is always cheering for his members and making them happy by saying the exact words that they want to hear, jake is someone who is cheerful, kind and always happy, whenever I see jake I become happy, jake just give you the positive energy whenever you need it.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ sunghoon as takumi ichinose ;

honestly, sunghoon was the hardest member to find a character who is similar to him.

takumi is is an ambitious, even as a child, he wanted to find something that only he can do and was willing to reach success, we all know that sunghoon before joining enhypen was a figure skater, he started this job at a very early age, he worked so hard on it too.

takumi is workaholic and passionate, he invests himself entirely in what makes him excited and inspired until the fire will burn out, sunghoon also is passionate about excelling in his chosen field which makes sense, given how hard he worked at figure skating and at i-land, whenever sunghoon has his mind set on something, he works really hard on it until he achieve it. both of them are working hard to lead their groups to  success, takumi is working the whole day on writing & producing songs to his group, sunghoon is practicing everyday to make his moves perfect, he doesn't want to hold enhypen back, so he put efforts in anything he does.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ sunoo as nobuo terashima ;

nobu is the guitarist of blast and was the only person able to befriend nana osaki during high school, which coincidentally began their shared love for punk music.

he is friendly and optimistic, sunoo really reminds me of him, both of them are positive & sunshines, they bring positivity wherever they are going and they make everyone smile, they are the vitamins of their groups, everyone do love them, although they get teased a lot. both of them are very hardworking, nobu is constantly working on his guitar skills & producing songs, while sunoo is always trying to make his performances the bests..

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ ni-ki as shinichi okazaki ;

these two are the foreigners and the babies of their groups. as much as niki doesn't know about korean culture since he is japanese, shin doesn't know about japanese culture either because he was raised in Sweden. but aside from that, these two really give the same vibe, riki and shin both of them have a competitive nature, they hate losing and they want to win all the time. shin is resilient, can remain cool-headed in the most difficult moments, I think riki will be the least one to freak out in a dangerous situation.

despite his young age and very short training period of just 8 months, riki give us incredible performances that have everyone convinced he’s going to be enhypen’s main dancer, he's very skilled and talented for his age, shin is so good at bass, that people started comparing him with pro bass players despite being only 15. riki & shin are very ambitious for their age, shin wants to defeat ren honjo at playing bass, he wants to be the best bass player, he even started playing it after seeing ren and from that moment he swore that he'll defeat him, as for niki, alongside performing at Tokyo Dome, some more of his dreams include receiving a Billboard Music Award within 10 years and holding a concert as soon as possible after debut.

[wrestlingisfake]

Wrestle Kingdom 14 preview (part 1)

For 29 years, New Japan Pro Wrestling has run an annual Tokyo Dome show on January 4, right after Japan’s multi-day New Year celebrations.  This is the 14th such show called “Wrestle Kingdom,” and the first to expand to a two-day event.  Aside from WWE’s stadium shows, this is the biggest pro wrestling event of the year, so if you’re looking to get into NJPW, this is a good place to start.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi - Ibushi won the 2019 G1 Climax tournament for the right to challenge Okada for the IWGP heavyweight championship, the top title in New Japan.  This is being billed as part of a “Double Gold Dash” along with Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito, so the champions coming out of those two matches will meet on the January 5 show with both titles at stake.  The two guys who leave this show empty handed will wrestle in a consolation match on the undercard of the January 5 show.

Okada, a five-time champion, has held the title for 1,789 of the last 2,883 days.  In the past seven years, all the other titleholders put together have not held the belt as long as he has.  He’s The Man, handpicked to lead the company into the 2010s and beyond, and at just 32 years of age he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.  The storyline for Okada is pretty basic--he’s almost always on top, acting kinda cocky about it, and dismissing the competition until they give him a reason to take them seriously.  He’s the one guy in this Double Gold Dash who doesn’t care about being a double champion, and he resents the suggestion that his one championship is somehow inadequate.

Ibushi is something of an oddball journeyman, whose phenomenal talent has at times been at odds with his unorthodox approach to business.  He might have been champion many times over by now, but he preferred to be a free agent rather than commit to any one company, making it politically difficult to push him.  Then, just as it seemed he might jump to All Elite Wrestling with his soulmate Kenny Omega, he locked in with a long-term NJPW contract.  (If you’ve been watching AEW and wondering why Omega seems depressed and out-of-sorts, it’s because he had to leave this guy behind.)  At 37 he’s finally getting the tippy-toppy guy push he always deserved...and yet the story is that he’d kinda sorta rather have the intercontinental title, for sentimental reasons.

Expectations for this match are running high, because each man has delivered some of the best matches in the world.  Okada’s whole thing is to get in his opponent’s head by teasing him and taking him lightly until things get harder and he has to turn it up.  Ibushi’s whole thing is fighting like an anime guy--he’s all honorable at first with quick flashy moves, and then when he’s beaten down he hulks up and goes sickhouse on your ass.  Basically Ibushi is the wrong damn guy for Okada’s “you’re a good little hand, kid, but you can’t beat me” shtick, because Ibushi will kick his head off.  But Okada is the wrong damn guy for Ibushi’s “now I’m in ultimate turbo super collosal mode” shit, because Okada can weather the storm and keep going.  Whoever wins this one is going to have to damn near kill the other guy.

It’s tough to pick a winner knowing anything could happen 24 hours later.  But it feels like this is Ibushi’s time, and it’s taken a long time to get there, so he should win the big one.  But history has taught me to never doubt Okada’s ability to crush his challengers’ hopes and dreams and convince me that it’s best for business.  If anyone can roll over Ibushi’s push, it’s Okada.  But if anybody can defy conventions, it’s Ibushi.  This one’s too close to call.

Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito - White pinned Naito in the G1 Climax, and then won the IWGP intercontinental title from Naito in September, so this is the rematch.  This is also the other half of the “Double Gold Dash” along with Okada vs. Ibushi, so the champion after this match goes on to the double title match on January 5, and the other guy ends up in the consolation match.

The whole idea of everybody wanting to be double champion kicked off a year ago with Naito.  He’d always resented the intercontinental belt, dragging it on the ground and such, but after winning it at Wrestle Kingdom 13 he seemed to come to terms with it always coming back to him, and set his sights on being the first man to hold it and the heavyweight belt at the same time.  Of course, then he lost his belt to Ibushi, and had to get it back, and before you knew it Ibushi was deciding he liked the idea of being a double champion as well.  As talk of a double title match at the Tokyo Dome started heating up, White realized his best shot of regaining the heavyweight title was to take the intercontinental belt from Naito to ensure he’d be in the conversation.  But Naito, undeterred, insisted on getting a rematch with Naito, which secured his spot in this little tournament.

It’s still incredible to me that White used to be the scrawny looking young boy in the opening matches 3½ years ago.  He’s not quite at the level of the other tippy-toppy guys, but for my money he’s one of the best in the company.  Part of the reason I haven’t missed Kenny Omega in NJPW all that much is because White has taken the top gaijin role, run with it, and made it his own.  He’s so hated that, if he wins the main event on 1/5, there is a very real chance that tens of thousands of people will just rush to the exits instead of watching the end of the show.  He’s great.

The big knock on Naito is that he’s pretty banged up and can’t go like he used to.  In WWE they’d probably take him off the road, or reduce his schedule to a handful of matches each year until he could recover.  In New Japan, he seems to be on every tour, phoning it in until it’s time to pull out all the stops in a big money match.  Now he’s looking at two big money matches in a row.  If you ask me now is not the time to book Naito over two top stars and position him to defend two top belts like he’s Superman.  Then again, if you ask me, I’m not certain anyone at NJPW sees it that way.

I’m not expecting this match to be all that great.  Naito has elevated “stall to fuck with your opponent” to a whole new artform.  White, meanwhile, has perfected a strategy where he goes limp and lies on his back so opponents can’t execute their big moves (because pro wrestlers don’t know how to just stomp a guy or grab a hold, apparently).  When these two fight, it’s very much Larry Zbyszko’s “human game of chess,” and to be honest I never liked Zbyszko very much.

The outcome here really depends on what New Japan sees as the best opponent for the winner of Okada-Ibushi to headline the 1/5 show.  Of the possible combinations, Okada-Naito is the freshest match (last seen in January 2018), followed by Okada-White (April 2019), Ibushi-Naito (June 2019) and Ibushi-White (August 2019).  That sort of leads me to think Naito is the preferred winner here, in addition to the fact he’s the bigger star and the bigger draw.  The question, though, is whether his body can hold up to the demands of that star power.

Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi - Ospreay is defending the IWGP junior heavyweight championship.  Takahashi is returning from a neck injury that has sidelined him since July 7, 2018.

I was in the Cow Palace when Takahashi seemed to glide across the mat as if his face was an ice skate.  I still remember the noise the crowd made when we saw the replay.  I was relieved when Hiromu got back up and won the match to retain the junior title, because I assumed that meant everything would be all right.  By the time I learned he’d been immediately rushed to the hospital after the match, I was sightseeing in San Francisco the next day.  I followed his status updates closely, until they stopped coming.  Then I commiserated with New Japan Tumblr about the frustration of expecting him to return at every single big show.  So yeah, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.

Here’s the thing.  Both of these men do big crazy moves that elevate the art of lightweight pro wrestling.  They aim to please the crowd with high-risk spots, and accept the enormous risks of overdoing those spots.  I appreciate Will and Hiromu for their styles.  But I consider them two of my favorites because of their characters, the stuff that they could coast instead of killing themselves for style.  Ospreay didn’t elevate his game by flipping around with Ricochet, but by delivering a passionate promo about battling depression and vowing to “slay the dragon” by overcoming the (then) undefeated Shingo Takagi.  Hiromu didn’t elevate his game by feuding with Dragon Lee, but by purchasing a stuffed cat and making us treat it like a real cat. 

So as far as I’m concerned, the big angle for this match is that Ospreay has introduced his own stuffed animal mascot (Percy the Pig) to counteract Hiromu’s cats.  If they met in the center of the ring at the Tokyo Dome and made their dolls fight each other, I would declare it the match of the year.  I don’t need these guys to destroy themselves for me.  I accept that they will try to do that anyway.  But I’m into this match on a whole other level, and I hope they don’t lose sight of that.

I personally think Hiromu needs to regain the junior title (even if only for a few weeks) to close the book on his return from injury.  The only good reason not to do that here is if they think he still needs to shake off some ring rust.  But by all accounts, he’s been cleared to wrestle for months, so if the time for the title win isn’t now, I’ll be incredibly shocked.

Lance Archer vs. Jon Moxley - This is for Archer’s IWGP United States championship.  The match is being billed as a “Texas death match,” although the rules for such a contest seem to change literally every time someone books one.  In this case, the match can only end when one participant submits or fails to answer the referee’s count of ten.  Regardless of the outcome, whoever is US champion will defend against Juice Robinson on the January 5 show.

Moxley won the title from Robinson in June, but Juice pinned him in a non-title match in August.  That set up a rubber match in October 14, but Typhoon Hagiibis prevened Mox from making the show, so he was stripped of the title.  Archer defeated Juice in a match for the vacant title, and now Moxley is back to reclaim what he never lost in the ring.  For his part, Archer is fixated on validating his title run by defeating the ex-champion he’s never faced.

Archer was always terrifying in his run with Davey Boy Smith, Jr., as the Killer Elite Squad, but after Smith left he really started to show me something as a singles guy.  He was an unexpected highlight in the G1 Climax as a big bully that frightens small children, and I’m actually ashamed that I didn’t consider the potential of a feud with Moxley until he back-doored his way into the US title picture.  I like seeing Moxley with an IWGP championship, but I have to admit Archer is a stronger choice for a US champion, considering that he’s not contractually prohibited from defending the title in North America.

My gut says the Robinson match on January 5 doesn’t make a lot of sense unless the goal is to rapidly reset things back to October 14 and deliver the Moxley vs. Robinson title match.  I don’t see why they’d do it that way unless they’re determined to move the title back to Juice and have Moxley give him the rub.  While there are certainly other possibilities (Archer retains in both matches, Moxley wins both matches, Archer beats Mox but loses to Juice), none of them make quite as much sense to me.  Since I happen to like all three guys, I guess I can’t be disappointed in any event.  But as far as this match goes, I think Moxley will regain the US belt.

Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay - Robinson and Finlay won the World Tag League tournament for the right to challenge the Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP heavyweight tag team championship.  If Juice wins this match, and goes on to win his US title match tomorrow, he will effectively have two IWGP championships at the same time before any of the Double Gold Dash guys, so that’s kinda funny.

Finlay was sidelined with a shoulder injury very early in 2019, and in the meantime Robinson ended up feuding with Moxley over the US title.  Finlay returned just in time to get involved in the subsequent Juice vs. Lance Archer mini-feud, but Archer made short work of him too.  So their run in World Tag League seemed to be a reset for both guys, giving them a new direction to prosper in while Archer moved on with the US belt.  At least, that’s what I figured before Juice was booked in that US title match on 1/5.  Now I don’t know if they’re planning to push him as a singles act or a tag team guy.  Can they do both?  I guess we’ll see.

The story here for the Guerillas of Destiny is that they dominate the tag division but never actually win at Wrestle Kingdom.  (Tama’s last Tokyo Dome win was years ago, as a curtain jerker, long before Tanga showed up.)  It’s not much of a story, though, so it’s hard for me to imagine they’re going to finally get that big win here.  Juice has been beating himself up a lot for his losses in the past few months, so I’m pulling for him to have something to celebrate tonight.

KENTA & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano - Now that Wrestle Kingdom has expanded to two days, there’s more room for filler tag team matches to pad the show.  This one is a preview of the Kenta vs. Goto match on January 5.  Kenta was teaming with Ishii and Yoshi when he betrayed them to join Bullet Club, and the two of them have really failed to get any shred of revenge, so this may be their last big chance.  But in the end I expect the Bullet Club team to win to put heat on Kenta going into tomorrow’s title match.

Zack Sabre, Jr. & Taichi & Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado vs. SANADA & EVIL & Shingo Takagi & BUSHI - This match previews the Sabre vs. Sanada match on January 5.  Sanada suffered some sort of injury a couple of weeks ago where he had to be pulled from the card, so there was concern he might not be cleared for this weekend.  But as of this writing, this match is still scheduled.  As a fallback, New Japan booked Bushi to score a big upset on Sabre in December, so that gives Sabre two guys to target here. 

I’m curious about the 2020 directions for several guys in this match, most notably Suzuki, Evil, and Shingo.  In theory this match could preview possible storylines for them, but that tends to be something they save for New Year Dash, so I won’t hold my breath.  The Sabre/Taichi team seems to be getting some momentum, so that may also be a thing to watch heading into the new year, especially if Sabre drops his British title to focus on a tag team run.  As far as this match goes, though, I think it could go either way.

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask & Tatsumi Fujinami & The Great Sasuke vs. Naoki Sano & Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shinjiro Otani & Ryusuke Taguchi - Liger’s team will be cornered by El Samurai and Sano’s team will be cornered by Kuniaki Kobayashi.  Norio Honaga will be the special referee.  This is the first of two retirement matches for Liger, who will end his in-ring career on January 5 and then have a ceremony on January 6.

Liger (55) has hand-selected the participants in this match.  Tiger Mask (49) has been his long-time tag team partner.  Fujinami (65) was his idol, who inspired him to become a pro wrestler.  Sasuke (50) and Liger collaborated to create the Super J Cup and J Crown tournaments.  Kobayashi (63) was Liger’s first opponent in the Jushin Liger gimmick in 1989.  Sano (54) was Liger’s first big rival back in 1990.  Liger feuded with Takaiwa (47), Otani (47), Samurai (53), and Honaga (64) over the years.  Taguchi (40) seems to mainly be there to help carry the match and represent the current New Japan junior division.

In theory, a guy that’s retiring should lose on his way out.  Then again, in theory a guy that’s retiring doesn’t have two retirement matches in the Tokyo Dome.  Liger obviously has to go down hard on 1/5, but he could score the win here to give us one last big celebration with his cool theme music and stuff.  It is frankly not that important to give the rub to Taguchi or his team.  So, unexpectedly, we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out.

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi - This is one of three opening matches that will be in the pre-show.  All four guys are on the active roster but they’re all past their prime and mainly work with the young boys in the undercard.  If you’ve watched New Japan for any time at all you’ve probably seen these four a dozen times.  It’s not going to blow the roof off the dome, but it’ll be a nice nostalgia pop to see them working in the Tokyo Dome one more time.  It kinda doesn’t matter who wins.

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji vs. Toa Henare & Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors & Alex Coughlin - Another pre-show match, which should be the first one actually broadcast for streaming services and Japanese television.  Makabe and Honma are longtime partners who are all that’s left of the defunct faction GBH.  Uemura and Tsuji are young boys training in New Japan’s dojo system.  Henare graduated from that system a while back, but he’s still little more than a curtain jerker waiting for his first real push.  Fredericks, Connors, and Coughlin are trainees at New Japan’s new Los Angeles dojo, as part of their big “New Japan of America” initiative.  On paper, there’s no way Makabe and Honma lose to a bunch of rookies, let alone gaijin rookies.  But they’ve been pushing the LA Dojo students as being a hair better than the local young boys, so I think an upset is at least possible.

Arisa Hoshiki & Mayu Iwatani vs. Giulia & Hana Kimura - This is a special exhibition match featuring women from the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion.  Although NJPW and Stardom are owned by the same parent company, their broadcasting rights are with different outlets, so this probably won’t be aired on the live stream, and I’m not certain when or where it will be made available to view.  That’s a shame since I know almost nothing about Stardom, and this could have been a good opportunity to dip my toe in that.  I’ve heard fans of both promotions aren’t wild about them intermingling like this, but booking men and women on the same show is pretty standard in the West so I’m sure I wouldn’t understand the problem.

[heartsnatchertranslation]

Cinema Today’s Interview with Katsuhito Ishii (July 2004)

https://www.cinematoday.jp/interview/A0000672

Today’s translation is an old interview with director Katsuhito Ishii, fresh off of having his classic film The Taste of Tea screened at the Cannes Film Festival. I wanted to translate it as it gives some fun insight into the making of the film and the director himself, and as far as I can tell there’s precious little about Ishii and his films out there in English. The Taste of Tea is perhaps my favorite film, period, and it was a pleasure to read a little about what went into the film and Ishii’s experiences after making it. If there are any other fans of this movie on here, I hope they enjoy this interview too! There’s another interview with Ishii I might translate as well but I figured I’d do just this one for now, as there are a couple other things I’m working on.

----

The Taste of Tea, a film about a family’s daily life infused with a unique humor and set against the backdrop of Japan’s beautiful woodlands. It is the first new film in four years for director Katsuhito Ishii, who received critical acclaim for his films Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl and PARTY7, and was selected as the opening feature for the Cannes Film Festival. Among the family’s troubled, slightly odd members are the eldest son, unable to hide his shock after the girl he yearns for transfers to a different school, and the eldest daughter, who is occasionally harassed by a giant version of herself that appears to stare down at her. What does the director, who fixes a warm gaze on this family, think?

Q: Obviously, I’m interested in how you came up with this story.

Right? (Laughs) I was thinking about how I wanted to film a domestic drama back when I was making Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl. However, I didn’t think it was a genre that I was suited for. Then when I was filming the Fujitsu commercials (the ones that Takuya Kimuya and Ittoku Kishibe appear in) I thought “I’m surprisingly good at this.” (Laughs) At the same time, there was a period where I had gotten really into watching films like The Yellow Handkerchief, the Tora-san films, classic films from the Middle East, and so on, which had me thinking about how I’d like to make a movie that’s enjoyable no matter how many times you watch it. At that time, I had thought up the story of this grandfather who keeps teasing his granddaughter and gets scolded by the mother over it. That was the foundation. Expand on that with questions like “What kind of person is the grandfather?”, “What’s the granddaughter thinking about?”, and “What kind of job does the mother do?” and you get The Taste of Tea.

Q: The Haruno family, the film’s protagonists, seem like the ideal family, but they also have their eccentricities. Is their anything of your own family that shows up in them?

The sense of distance between them is ideal, isn’t it? Like Sachiko (the family’s eldest daughter, played by Maya Banno), when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, I also couldn’t find a reason to go to school, so I just up and went home from school, and they were searching for me. But I really didn’t understand why I had to go to school. I was like, “This isn’t anything you need to search for me over!” Then the grownups got mad at me, so I was sure to put adults who don’t get mad in this film. (Laughs)

Q: The Taste of Tea is also quite a nice title.

It’s the title I gave it from the initial stages of making the film, but there was a time when I was thinking of changing it to something easier to understand. The story takes place in the spring, and everyone’s troubled by something, so I considered something like The Troubles of Spring, but it was too on the nose, and I thought that was inconsiderate toward the viewers. That’s why I ultimately went with The Taste of Tea. There’s even scenes of everyone drinking tea together. (Laughs) There’s also the simple fact that I like tea. Of course, the Harunos all like tea as well.

Q: What kind of tea do you happen to like?

I like a blend of kuma bamboo grass and Japanese mint.

Q: You’re particular when it comes to your tea! Black tea and coffee don’t do it for you?

Black tea I blend with kuma bamboo grass. I don’t drink much coffee.  I used to like green tea, but I hear it cools you down. I run cold anyways, so after hearing that, I cut back on it.

Q: Were you conscious of the differences between The Taste of Tea and your previous two films Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl and PARTY7 while filming?

Shark Skin Man and PARTY7 are films I made with a youthful ego, like “I can make this kind of film!”, so I came up with something I personally find quite agreeable. On the other hand, The Taste of Tea was made from the position of “I want to see this kind of film, so I’m making it myself,” which is the biggest difference. In addition, rather than making a film that’s frantic from beginning to end, like my previous two films, I wanted to make something that was laid back. I saw these European-style films with long takes and single cuts like Kōhei Oguri’s Sleeping Man and Naoki Nagao’s The Ripples and wondered if I shouldn’t give it a shot myself. However, figuring out how to meld my inherent sense of humor with flat, mature visuals was also a challenge.

Q: This film is an ensemble drama where collaboration between the cast is key, but was there anything in particular that you were looking for from them?

All I asked of the cast is that they didn’t give off the vibe that they were acting. I also told them “Keep acting while the camera moves around,” so there were I times where I had them talk on and on for about seven minutes, even though there were only two lines written in the script. (Laughs)

Q:  When it comes to films with a warm atmosphere, they say that there’s actually a nervous air about the set…

They do, don’t they? But, when making a warm film, of course you need the set to be warm too, since no matter what you do, that air of nervousness on the set will show up in the film. If you film a fun set, that sense of playfulness comes through. That’s why my motto is “To a fun set!”

Q: Tell me how it felt to be selected as the opening film for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. The staff at the Directors’ Fortnight are very particular about what they choose to screen, right?

In the initial stages of production, a producer told me that they wanted to take the movie to Cannes, but I said “Anything but that.” (Laughs) But, he said that he thought it would go over well in France, and showed the Directors’ Fortnight staff a completed cut. Apparently, everyone on the staff said “This is funny!” A little while after, they approached us and asked if we wanted to be the opening film. Since I couldn’t believe them when they said my film was funny, when they came to Japan I questioned each one of them about which parts were funny and how. But I was really happy.

Q: The reactions at the screening were said to be good too.

I hear that the reception at a press event before the screening was good too, but I don’t believe that either. (Laughs) At the screening itself, I saw the audience’s reactions with my own eyes, but I actually thought that too was all an act. It’s like I somehow had some sort of prejudice towards the French. They’re surprisingly good people. (Laughs)

Q: Quentin Tarantino saw it too.

I heard that he snuck into the private screening held for marketing purposes, but the subtitles were in French, and he was saying that he left halfway through because everyone but him was laughing and it was frustrating. (Laughs) After that, we sent a version with English subtitles to his staff, but I wonder if someone as busy as him actually watched it…

Q: Has anything changed for you after experiencing the Cannes Film Festival?

I cleared up my misunderstandings of the French. (Laughs) Also, hearing the praise for my film firsthand from America and other countries gave me a boost. People from Hollywood said things like “Your movie was good.”

Q: More than French people, it’s weird to me that Americans understand how good The Taste of Tea is. (Laughs)

I thought the same thing, but one of the staff members of the Directors’ Fortnight is also American, and they told me “I’m American, but I get it. Don’t make fun of me.” They were a little mad at me. So I reflected on how I was also holding some prejudices towards Americans too. (Laughs)

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before the Dramacourt: Boku Unmei no Hito desu Ep 4

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether this drama defies most of the stereotypical drama principles

Whether the whole arm wrestling saga represents something deeper

The Rule(s):

Yes! (So happy for that.)

I believe so.

Analysis:

Jubiemon J: I think this drama is going to be one of my favourite dramas of 2017! I’m craving for more after every episode and I’m always smiling and laughing out loud when I see what Makoto has to go through to make himself more likeable to Haruko. This drama also seems to defy all of the typical drama principles (ie the second lead that will keep going after the first female lead until the last or second to last episode). I think that’s a huge breath of fresh air and is far more realistic than what we’d see in most dramas.

Plus, I love how this drama always surprises us. We expect one thing to happen, yet another does. I mean we’re starting to get a hang of this pattern as Makoto also begins to try to guess what the Yamapi God is hinting. However, like Makoto, we aren’t 100% sure what we’re up for, which ironically is sort of like life. I personally think that this drama is trying to show that there is fate, meaning that there is a destined path that you’re supposed to take. However, how you take the individual steps to getting that path can be different. Sure, Makoto would experience pulling her close to him and then kissing her as a result, but even what he says to Haruko is not under Yamapi God’s control. Yamapi God even scolds him later that he should act faster. Yamapi God also always puts time pressure on Makoto, so even though Yamapi God knows that if they get married and have a kid, their kid will save the Earth, it isn’t guaranteed that they’d get together in the first place. That’s again a show of how there is choice within fate and perhaps there is more than 1 fate (ie path).

(Side Note: I also TOTALLY change my feelings for Mitsukuni who was the second male lead in this drama. He is only of the most annoying second male leads in episodes two and three.)

Issue 1: Whether this drama defies most of the stereotypical drama principles

Jubiemon J: Yes, this drama does defy most of the stereotypical drama principles. In fact, I think it does it to give comedic relief and to keep the suspense going. Plus I think this drama also uses satire to defy some of these principles and to teach us some lessons. Often irony is used alongside satire.

(Side note: Satire is a literary device used to expose and make fun of a character’s flaw or some aspect of society. Often that is done by using irony, humour, and exaggeration (See here for more information.) Irony is when there are two contradicting meanings for one situation, event, etc. Usually it’s expectations versus reality. (See here for more examples.))

Here are the ways that this drama has defied stereotypical drama principles:

(i) Makoto and Mitsukuni become friends (likely future bffs);

(ii) Mitsukuni and Mitsue are likely going to date in the future;

(iii) Makoto’s boss, Torita Shokichi,  seems to be interested in what he thought as the “ugly woman”, Hatozaki Sumire; 

(iv) Ugumori Midori, one of Makoto’s co-workers, believes her fated love is what we consider as the not-so-popular guy, Katsuragi Kazuo, another co-worker of Makoto’s;

(v) Haruko embodies what we generally see as more “masculine” traits than feminine one compared to Makoto; and

(vii) Yamapi God is completely different from what we think a God should act like.

Let’s look at each piece in more detail.

(i) The first male lead and the second male lead become friends.

Okay . . . does that ever happen in the drama universe? Nope! We generally have the first male lead and the second male lead end up hating each other or fighting against one another. Perhaps sometimes both start out as best buddies and then because the female lead shows up, their friendship begins to sour. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a drama where the second male lead not only gives up after a few episodes, but he also becomes friends with the first male lead in a subsequent episode. We’re not talking about the 2nd to last episode or the last. We’re talking about midway through the drama.

Yamapi God telling Makoto to seek Mitsukuni’s help!

In this drama, this stereotypical principle is shattered. Yamapi God suggests to Makoto that he has to seek Mitsukuni for help in order to win the arm-wrestling challenge against this pro Sumo wrestler. Though Makoto rejects this idea at first, he still follows through out of desperation. Guess what? Mitsukuni actually helps him and supports his relationship with Haruko. He wants them together!

Mitsukuni, being a past fitness trainer, ends up training Makoto through a funny regime that includes aerobics, squash, weights, etc. This is all for arm-wrestling. Lol!

Mitsukuni even gives him a charm for good luck in the end and Makoto becomes all grateful to his mentor.

A gift to Makoto from Mitsukuni

A love charm?!?!

Makoto: Thank you so much! 

Mitsukuni apologizes to Makoto and says to treat this an apology gift.

Mitsukuni shows that he isn’t a one-dimensional character by admitting to one of his flaws, his narcissism. He actually says something like I’m a narcissist. What second male lead would admit to the first male lead his weakness? And give him a love charm to support him with the female lead? Never in the old drama verse days.

(ii) The second lead male and the lead female’s bff are likely going to date in the future

Does that really happen in the drama world? Very rarely! Even if it does happen, it’s more like the lead female’s bff always had a huge crush on that second lead male and in the end, he decides to give her a shot. That’s not the case here! I think they’re progressing pretty naturally and neither of them had any interest in one another till later. When Mitsue says that Haruko and Makoto were on a date because they were hanging out by themselves, Haruko shoots back by asking her about the bar outing she went on with Mitsukuni. Mitsue keeps stating that she only met him at the bar. Cute!

Moreover, during one of their talks over dinner, Haruko tells us that she isn’t interested in clingy men and doesn’t like it when she gets a lot of text messages. Haruko mentions how Mitsukuni often texts a lot and how that’s like what Mitsue does to her.

I totally see Mitsue and Mitsukuni getting together later. Can’t wait for this couple to happen!

(iii) A “handsome” guy becomes interested in who he thought was an “ugly woman”

Usually in dramas, the “good-looking” guy ends up having to trick the “ugly woman” to fall for him and then later falls for her, but in this case, Makoto’s boss who is regarded as better looking than Haruko’s female boss has opened up his mind to interacting with her by himself. Over the past few episodes, we’ve seen him go from complete avoidance to mere acknowledgement of her existence to a request for a meeting with her. Sure, the meeting was to see how her company could help them with marketing, but before he was completely repulsed by her and would press the close button whenever she headed to the elevators.

At the end of the meeting, he comments that she is very nice after she agrees to help his company out.

(iv) The “pretty” girl falls deeply for the “ugly” guy without much of a reason.

Whenever there’s some cute girl in a drama, she usually ends up falling for the hot guy or this nerd who turns out to be a hot guy. She never really dates a guy that’s what we’d see as below average for looks. (I honestly hate talking about looks being the reason that someone would date another, but it’s a trend we tend to see in dramas.) Here we have Midori totally falling head over heels over Kazuo and thinks that he is her fated one due to absurd reasons like matching socks or what not.

(v) Stereotypical gender traits are broken in the characters’ personalities.

I’ve mentioned before that many times, Makoto acts more like the typical shoujo manga girl character we see. He’s very pure and honest. He is shy around his crush and super awkward. He is quite emotionally driven (ie. he cries when the Sumo wrestler’s MC is talking about how his mother raised him and Haruko is the one that hands him a handkerchief!)

Makoto being way, way more nervous than Haruko

Makoto crying his eyes out because of being so touched by the speech vs Haruko going . . . Huh? 

It’s very easy to tease him as you see from Yamapi God’s interactions with him. He is dense and not that book smart. He is super dedicated to getting his love interest to fall for him even though she keeps rejecting him. I’m totally getting reminded of . . . Itazura na Kiss, but in this case, Makoto is Aihara Kotoko and Haruko is more like Irie Naoki. Of course, the Itazura na Kiss scenario is more extreme, but Haruko is cold on the exterior yet soft in the interior like Naoki and Makoto is a loyal, air-head like Kotoko.

I love how this drama points out that women don’t have to be a certain way nor do men. It’s also done in a very tasteful way through everyday occurrences. Look at when Midori wins against Kazuo who is all like . . . no way can a little girl win me! Women can be stronger than men and win an arm-wrestling match. It’s great that all the other male co-workers were cheering her on!

Woman vs Man

You go girl! (All the men were rooting for her too. Hehehe.)

Women can also have colder personalities like Haruko and say no to guys pursuing them. Makoto and Mitsukuni never complain about Haruko’s seemingly nonchalant, cool personality which I bet many would say she’d have a resting bitch face. She’s just not that expressive for everyday situations, but when she’s totally into something like sumo wrestling, she becomes super cheerful and bubbly. It’s a really cute contrast!

Let’s also do something that be on a tangent yet still fun. Let’s examine their names. Makoto’s kanji is 誠. 誠 【まこと】 means “truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, integrity, fidelity, that’s right (used when recalling forgotten information, suddenly changing the subject, etc.)” (See here). That sounds a lot like Makoto’s personality right? He always stresses how he takes things too literally or seriously so he doesn’t get jokes and apologizes for that. I believe he has said that similar line at least three times throughout the drama.

Haruko is written like this 晴��, which means bright/clear child. 晴れる 【はれる】is “to clear up, to clear away, to be sunny, to stop raining, to refresh (e.g. spirits), to be cleared (e.g. of a suspicion), to be dispelled, to be banished.” (See here.) Wait . . . her personality doesn’t really give off sunny vibes. In fact, when Kazuo asks who Makoto likes and Makoto whispers to him that he likes Haruko, Kazuo goes on to passively complain about Haruko’s personality. Kazuo says something like “she’s cute but just a bit . . .” and “kind of plain but seems a bit like the type that’d be hard to win over.” Makoto confronts him and warns him not to use “a bit” to bash her. Go Makoto!

  (vii) God is generally seen as a spiritual figure that is above the human being.

When we often think of God, we think of a figure that is holy, all-mighty, probably serious, kindhearted, worldly etc . . . Then we have Yamapi God who is dressed in very modern, stylish clothing. He also jokes around a lot and teases Makoto to no end. He plays games and pranks. He seems more like the Jester archetype at times. However, what makes him not really fit the mold is that he does care about the outcome which is making sure that Makoto marries Haruko and they both have a kid who will save the world.

YG and M playing this paper sumo game! What kind of God would do that? Hahaha!

Funny Yamapi God moment- YG: Invite her to your place next time! M: No! Where will you go? YG: I’ll just get out of the closet and leave quietly while you two do your thing.

YG: Are you feeling more confident in winning that arm wrestling battle? M: No . . . only 10%. I think I’m gonna fail. LOL!

(Side note: I just love how this drama makes fun of other drama genres. When Yamapi God is explaining his game plan to Makoto, we see this part being filmed as if Yamapi God were announcing to the world how he solved some mystery. This style of filming reminds me of those detective shows, especially the Conan anime, where the part of the detective exposing the truth becomes super dramatic. They even cued in ominous music and filmed this part with shaky hands. Hahaha!)

Issue 2: Whether the whole arm wrestling saga represents something deeper 

Jubiemon J: Besides the comedy that we get to enjoy from the situations that Makoto goes through to train under the tutelage of Mitsukuni and the super anti-climatic ending of him losing the match, the arm-wrestling saga means something deeper, in my opinion. Several of the characters reference the movie “Over the Top” which is about a guy who ends up having to arm wrestle against many others who are much stronger than him. The guy ends up winning. The drama shows that it’s important to keep trying despite the adversity. Even if the outcome is not ideal like in the case of Makoto where he loses very quickly against the sumo wrestler, the process and what comes about after going through all that training are what matters.

If Makoto hadn’t practiced in that hilarious manner with Mitsukuni, he wouldn’t have been grab Haruko in time and save her from getting hit by the car. They wouldn’t kiss and then hug closely. Similarly, in the real world, sometimes you do something and it seems like it’s to waste, but later on you realize that what seemed like an initial setback was actually taking you elsewhere. Interestingly, I think this part shows how fate and choice are playing out.

It was Makoto’s choice to actually go through with all the training. Sure, he wasn’t the one who had that idea; that was Yamapi God’s doing (fate). It was his choice to listen. Also, it wasn’t his choice to have Haruko head out to the middle of the street to pick up this can. It was his choice to confess that they should be fated together (Look at the cans’ writing!) It was also his choice to wait for her.

Mitsukuni: Don’t let go of your happiness!!

Mitsukuni: Never let go of your happiness!

Mitsukuni: Go, go! Happy Smile! No pained face!

Makoto smiling despite all the pain. So funny.

Mitsukuni: Yes! Good job!

Just a short recap for those that might be confused by what I mean by the arm-wrestling saga: This whole episode starts with Makoto having chankonabe with Haruko.

Chankonabe!

Because of this dinner, Haruko and Makoto meet Haruko’s favourite sumo wrestler. (Haruko’s fan girling is so so so relatable and adorable!)

Makoto’s friend is the owner of the restaurant and he introduces them to this sumo wrestler who later invites them to his retirement ceremony which is called danpatsushiki (断髪式). What happens is that the sumo wrestler will get his topknot cut inside a sumo ring. It is a very emotional ceremony as friends, family, and whoever that is close to him will take turns snipping a bit of the hair. The last part is done by his master (See here). Therefore, it’s a HUGE deal for a fan girl like Haruko to participate in this ceremony. That’s also why she’s too pre-occupied by the fact that she can attend this to even remember about her date with Makoto. As Yamapi God says, Makoto’s status is the same as a daikon (type of radish). So what does Yamapi God suggest? Challenge the retired sumo wrestler to an arm wrestle and then beat him. Then Makoto will be able to get Haruko to fall for him.

(Side note: Chankonnabe is a type of stew that is eaten by sumo wrestlers to put on weight for the sport. There’s a lot of protein in this stew like chicken, tofu, and fish balls, etc.)

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed. 

Rating: 5 = KYAH!!! (So funny, so cute, and so thoughtful at the same time! I can’t wait for more! 😀 )

File No: Boku-Unmei-no-Hito-desu-Ep-5 Appearing before the Dramacourt: Boku Unmei no Hito desu Ep 4 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***