#ayumi ito

[cinematicjourney]

Swallowtail Butterfly (1996) dir. Shunji Iwai

[redsamuraiii]

Three "Japanese" series premiering February 2024!

Me :

[olvaheiner]

Tokyo Vice - Season 2, Episode 3 '' Old Law, New Twist '' (2024)

[stuff-diary]

Beyond Goodbye

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2024

Beyond Goodbye (2024, Japan)

Director: Hiroshi Kurosaki

Writer: Yoshikazu Okada

Mini-review:

I feel divided about this. On the one hand, the cinematography is really nice and the locations are downright stunning. And the entire cast is great too, especially the leads; these roles play to all of Kentaro Sakaguchi's and Kasumi Arimura's particular strengths. On the other hand, the plot didn't fully convince me. The conceit makes for a very interesting portrayal of grief, but the whole thing was just a bit too... odd for me. It didn't help that I kept feeling bad for the male lead's wife, even if the central relationship isn't exactly a romance, not with the foundation it's built on. So yeah, I can certainly appreciate Beyond Goodbye's aesthetic, acting and directing, but I'm not quite too sure about the rest.

[cinesoleil]

Swallowtail Butterfly (1996) dir. Shunji Iwai

[ratleyland]

Tokyo Vice- Season 2: Episode 9 (Consequences)

Two seasons of multiple storylines have finally overlapped into one big story.

I now patiently wait for the season finale to see how everything plays out.

[haveyouseenthistoku]

[cinemaobscura]

Owl | ふくろう (2003) dir. Shindo Kaneto

[maoichimichi]

376th Priconne Re:Dive - M・A・O, Miku Ito and Rika Tachibana. ~Year-end Special Broadcast~ Guest: Ayumi Tsuji 26.12.2024)

Thank you for watching "Princess Connect Channel Re:Dive ~Year-end Special Broadcast~"! If you missed it, please check out the archive here! Please continue to support "Princess Connect! Re:Dive"! ▼Archive here

Video:

プリコネチャンネルRe:Dive 第376回 ～年末SP放送～【ゲスト：辻あゆみ】

[yuurei20]

I see people say that the twst tune in Book 5 was removed because of Neige's voice actor but is that true? Where is everyone getting this information?

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! ❄️

To my knowledge have received no official information about why both the rhythmic and the VDC closing scene were removed from Book 5 on EN!

(The "Neige's voice actor" rumor is a little unfortunate as it puts the blame on a person who is possibly entirely uninvolved, and might not even know what happened 💦)

While searching I came across a Reddit thread from three years ago, where someone reports on the email that they received from Aniplex USA in response to an inquiry about the missing content:

I cannot verify the communication personally but from this person's experience it seems that Aniplex USA did confirm that the content was removed intentionally--it was not a bug--but there was no explanation as to why. Which makes sense, as we have never received any official insight into any of the various changes being made to EN.

And that is possibly what has led to rumors like "it is because of copyright" or "it is because of Neige's VA"--it is only natural for people to want closure!

But as of this post everything is just speculation, and as far as we know it is no more the fault of Neige's VA or his agency than it is anyone's fault--it is just a thing that happened!

EN players were provided with the in-game rewards that they would have received for playing the rhythmic so it is just the game itself and the final closing scene that they were unfortunately not able to experience.

A related rumor that I have seen before is that the song is a literal, word-for-word cover of Snow White's original "Heigh Ho," possibly resulting in these unconfirmed copyright issues--but it isn't! And it also isn't the Japanese-language dub of the song.

The lyrics are completely different, including lines such as:

Let’s all spin around and dance, Look, look, now hold hands, Let’s all laugh and dance together. It’s almost time, let’s bake some delicious bread, Bake, bake, come on, sing too, birds Every day is wonderful, it’s so much fun!

Even so, the song is still a remix, so while copyright concerns with Disney USA are not impossible they are also not based in anything but rumor.

I have also seen people say that the song was removed because of the strong backlash on JP, with some people even saying that Rook's VA was threatened, but I have not seen any proof that this is the case!

For reference, here is a collection tweets from the day that Rook's betrayal was revealed in 2021. While there is some negativity about how quickly Rook was forgiven, there are also comments saying they are glad that Rook's role as the hunter included his betrayal of his queen, and how the reveal made them laugh ^^ I have asked on multiple JP-user platforms including friends and people I do not know, and everyone has said that they have never heard of any backlash against Rook's VA, and there are no tweets or official statements from the VA or his agency.

It was a certainly a passionate time for the community, but we have no verifiable reports of harassment or threats and it is always good to be cautious about spreading unverified rumors!

Japan has strict cyber-bullying and harassment laws and a threat against a seiyuu is very likely to result in both a response from their agency and local law enforcement, such when two people wrote threatening comments on a website in 2019 towards seiyuu Ito Ayumi, leading to their arrest.

It is not unusual for rumors of "purported threats" to cycle around without any actual threats being made, as people assume that someone, somewhere is probably angry enough to do so. But "someone told me" and "probably" are very different from "actually happened" :>

While a common rumor in the EN community I have never seen any screenshots of proof, and am wondering if maybe it was just one of those miscommunications that tend to happen when a fandom crosses languages!

And another curious thing is the Twisted Wonderland OST 👀

The OST uses the English-language titles of songs and events instead of their original, Japanese-language counterparts--JP players don't actually know what "Spectral Soiree" or "Twisted Tsumderland" even are!

For us they were "Endless Halloween Night" and "Tsumsted Wonderland," and my guess is maybe the OST was specifically prepared for an overseas audience, choosing song names that English speakers are familiar with regardless of the confusion caused to Japanese speakers who knew nothing but the name "Endless Halloween" for two years before buying the OST and seeing an entirely new name for the first time.

(The "Fellow and Gidel" name is unchanged, but the OST came out before the Playfulland event on EN, and we have seen this discrepency before: If you own the second visual book you may be surprised by how the EN-version name of "Beanfest" is listed alongside the JP-version name of "Endless Halloween Night," but the visual book came out before EN's Halloween event.

It is my theory that some merch, despite being made in Japan, is being localized for English-language speakers, but the changes being made by Aniplex USA are not being shared in advance. Much like how Aniplex USA doesn't seem to know where the story is going, resulting in plot issues born from localization, merchandise manufacturers don't seem to know what changes Aniplex USA will be implementing, leading them to depending upon the original versions of stories and events for things that have yet to reach EN server. Interesting!)

The OST includes 149 tracks, which is a curious number--why not 150? And Neige's song? It is not there 👀

But the rhythmic and closing scene are both available on YouTube, and there is also this advertisement (also on YouTube) featuring Everybody Yaho! with three members of the Night Ravens, the group who performed the opening theme Piece of My World 🎶

[autthemanfghter]

橋本淳

松本寛也

甲斐麻美

別府あゆみ

伊藤友樹

市川洋介

魔法戦隊マジレンジャー

Atsushi Hashimoto

Hiroya Matsumoto

Asami Kai

Ayumi Beppu

Yuki Ito

Yousuke Ichikawa

Mahou Sentai MagiRanger

[redsamuraiii]

Tokyo Vice Season 2 (Feb 2024)

Shogun, Avatar : The Last Airbender & Tokyo Vice in Feb 2024! 🤩

Season 1 ended with a cliffhanger. Spoilers ahead.

Jin Miyamoto (Hideaki Ito) supposedly died after attempting to infiltrate the Yakuza, headed by Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) who later threatened Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) and his family.

Sato (Show Kasamatsu) was stabbed multiple times after bidding farewell to Samantha (Rachel Keller). Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) found a tape with disturbing content which he brought to Katagiri.

I hope they do not kill off Sato and Miyamoto. I love their characters. As if to make up for the the two said characters, two new characters will be entering the game:

Shoko Nagata (Miki Maya), a new detective with a more aggressive approach towards the Yakuza than Katagiri's balanced philosophy. She reminds me of Amami Yuki, known for her badassery in Japanese crime dramas. Looking forward to see this character!

With a more aggressive detective, comes a more ruthless Yakuza, Naoki Hayama (Yosuke Kubozuka). No details about his character have been revealed but I look forward to seeing this one too.

Pic Source : Entertainment Weekly News Source: Reels Mag

[yyh4ever]

Netflix released 15 new photos of the live-action version of Yu Yu Hakusho

The big surprise is seeing Yusuke's mother, Atsuko Urameshi, for the first time. She's played by Ayumi Ito. Atsushi Arai also confirmed he's playing Bui.

Yu Yu Hakusho character trucks travel across Japan

The Japanese media is also announcing that 12 ad trucks featuring some of the characters and their famous quotes will tour around Japan from December 4th to 17th, 2023.

They will depart from 4 cities: Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, arriving in Shibuya (Tokyo) on December 14th, the day of global premiere!

[stuff-diary]

Yu Yu Hakusho

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2023

Yu Yu Hakusho (2023, Japan)

Director: Sho Tsukikawa

Writer: Tatsuro Mishima (based on the manga by Yoshihiro Togashi)

Mini-review:

Wow, this surpassed all my expectations. I don't know much about the original manga/anime, but this live-action adaptation was thrilling, engaging and incredibly fun. I do think it was too short and the characters were underdeveloped, but the superb cast goes all in and makes you care about them despite the rushed writing. On top of that, the production values are top-notch. This drama has arguably the best CGI I've ever seen in a Japanese production (the Spirit World looks stunning), and the action scenes are just jaw-droppingly awesome. Seriously, Takahito Ouchi proves once again that he's one of the best action choreographers/stunt directors in the whole world. I really hope we get more seasons, cause it's clear that a lot of passion, talent and skill went into making this Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation, and these five episodes just fly by. Anyway, this is IMHO a must-watch for action/fantasy lovers.

[maridoodles]

the ff7r ultimania book has interviews with all the japanese VAs and tifa's voice actress (Ayumi Ito) said she asked sora's VA (Miyu Irino)for advice before recording i think that's so cute

[authorautumnbanks]

One Night (22)

Kagome stifles a yawn behind her hand as she gets out of the car. The moving truck is already here, and the cleaning company came out spent so much time last night packing as much as she could.

"Wow!" Shippo exclaims. "Is this our new house?"

Kagome's lips twitch. Shippo is dressed like a mini Satoru with his black baggy pants and white top.

"Yep, this is the new place. Remember, you can pick out any room except the master bedroom." Satoru cradles Koushi in his arm and motions for them to follow him into the house. "I'll stick around long enough for them to be done unloading the furniture, and then I'll need to head to my first mission. I'll help unload the rest when I get home."

Shippo runs into the house and stops. "Papa!"

"Yeah?"

"Give me my brother. We have to pick out our room."

Satoru chuckles. "You don't have to share a room with Koushi. You have four to choose from." He squats and holds Koushi out to Shippo. Koushi giggles and grabs a hold of Shippo's shirt as Shippo takes off in search of a room to pick out. Satoru stands and looks over at her. "Wanna check out our room?"

"Is that all you want to do?"

Satoru bites his bottom lip and steps closer to her. "Wouldn't mind checking you out." He grabs her hips and then slides his hands around to squeeze her ass. "This dress is amazing on you."

Of course he likes it, he bought it. Kagome leans forward. She wants to kiss him.

"Gojo-san! Where would you like this?" One of the movers asks.

Satoru scrunches his nose and drops his hands. "Oh, that? Goes in the master bedroom. This way." He reaches for her hand. "Did you talk to Ito?" He asks as they go up the stairs.

"Uh, yeah, I spoke to her yesterday. She's going to send me some pieces to choose from. You really don't have a preference for the decor?"

"Nah. All you."

Desire swirls in her gut. She wants to do something for him. Kagome glances at their interlocked hands. But what? She needs to brainstorm with Ayumi for ideas.

"So, this will help me how?" Kagome stares at the tripod and the remote in her hand. Ayumi laughs, much to Kagome's embarrassment. This whole thing is embarrassing, and she should have never mentioned to Ayumi she wanted to do something for Satoru.

Damn her and her big mouth.

"So, you can take as many sexy pictures as you want and send them to him." Ayumi takes the small remote from her hands. "Or you could make a video." She waggles her eyebrows. The pink sweater dress and black boots make Ayumi look far more innocent than she is. The color complements her, really brings a glow to her skin and eyes.

A video?

Kagome's eyes widen. "To send to him?" She palms her face. Her whole body feels like it is on fire. Why does the thought of sending Satoru a video feel more intimate than what they've already done? "Ayumi, what if he..."

"What if he what?"

"Doesn't find it appealing," Kagome says lamely. Insecurity rears its head. She knows Satoru wants her. He's not shy about it, but this feels... Kagome blows out a breath. "I feel silly." She smooths her hands down her sides. The soft fabric of the black wool knitted turtleneck dress brings her a little comfort. Partly because Satoru ordered the dress for her.

"You're overthinking it, Kagome. Look, I haven't really spent any time with you two, together, but based on his actions, and the way he didn't even glance at us at the table, he is smitten with you." Ayumi squeezes Kagome's shoulder. "You have two kids together."

Kagome frowns and then sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"I..." Kagome presses her lips together. "I haven't been truthful." She meets Ayumi's gaze. "You remember back in middle school, when I was sick all the time?"

Ayumi nods as she clasps her hands together. "Yes."

"I got pulled into the past." She watches Ayumi's reaction. There is none. "By a demon. Not a curse. And there was a jewel, the Shikon, that I was tasked with putting back together. Those years I disappeared. I was in the past with InuYasha."

Ayumi blinks. "So... did you cheat on InuYasha?"

"No. Shippo is a demon, too. I adopted him. I wasn't lying about Satoru and Koushi. It really was a one-night stand and now it's..."

Ayumi stares at her for a moment and then at the remote in her hand. "Kagome, I think he would love it if you sent him pictures or a video."

Huh?

"How did you get that from my story?"

Ayumi waves a hand in the air. "Easily. You're telling me that your now boyfriend immediately proposed a relationship with you once you two reconnected and he adopted a demon child?" She takes a step back and motions to the room. "I think InuYasha did a number on you. On your self-esteem. I mean, look at this place. It's incredible."

The house is amazing, and she still can't believe Satoru was able to get them moved in so quickly. Though the large windows give her pause. If she gives Satoru any more massages, she may need to put up a barrier around them to protect the rest of the room. Last thing she wants is a bunch of shattered glass on the floor.

"You're right," she admits. "I know you're a window for the sorcerers, but you're taking this really well."

"Ah, well, I have seen InuYasha without a bandana over his head. And his nails were really sharp."

Kagome wrinkles her nose. "I thought back then you would have thought me insane." She smiles. "But I guess that's why you never told me you could see curses." It's nice being able to tell Ayumi the truth after all these years.

This time Ayumi rolls her eyes. "Yeah, the moment you tell someone, they put you in the hospital. Though I can't imagine fighting a curse or a demon." She sighs and then looks at the tripod. "Well?"

Kagome flushes. Her cheeks are burning up. "I like the idea of a video."

"Do you have toys?"

Kagome shakes her head. "No, should I?"

"Oh, dear." Ayumi looks at her watch. "How much time do we have left?"

"About an hour until the kids are back. Satoru won't be home until tonight."

Ayumi nods. "We'll have to hurry. Maybe your mom would want to babysit longer? Unless you send him the video when the kids go to bed? I'm just throwing suggestions out." She tosses the remote onto the bed.

If Mom and Syouma take the kids tonight, then it's nearly a guarantee that Satoru will disrupt the power grid again. And they will have some time tomorrow when the kids are out shopping with their grandparents.

"I'll send it to him tonight when his missions are winding down."

Ayumi laughs. "Are we going to lose you next summer?"

Lose her next summer? Oh!

"If Satoru had his way, then yes." Kagome blows out a breath.

"You don't want anymore?" Ayumi glances over her shoulder as they make their way down the stairs.

"I'm pregnant." The admission takes her by surprise. It's the first time she's said the words out loud since Sesshomaru dropped the bombshell on her. "It's really early and you're the first person I've told...so don't say anything."

Ayumi trips and catches herself. "Kagome! Wow! I don't even...wow, he wasted no time."

She laughs. "Honestly, I don't know if anything would have stopped him. I was on birth control, and we used a condom with Koushi."

"I've heard he's the strongest. Not sure if that means anything." Ayumi shrugs. "Still, wow! And you think he wouldn't like a video from you?" She snorts. "If I ever see InuYasha again, I'll give him a talking to."

Kagome keeps her thoughts to herself. Not because she cares about Ayumi giving InuYasha a piece of her mind, but because thinking about InuYasha brings up visions of Satoru and how crazed he looked after he got done kicking InuYasha's ass.

It's that damn feral gleam in his eyes that does her in every time and exactly why she's pregnant again.

They head to the garage at Ayumi's insistence and head to Rose, a place that sounds like the name of a flower shop.

"You'll have to get a rose too, trust me."

Kagome nods her head, not trusting her voice to be any more than a squeak. When they pull into the parking lot, her stomach is a ball of knots. She sucks in a breath and gives herself a pep talk. Satoru will like it. He wanted some bindings anyway.

"Ready?"

Kagome clears her throat. "Sure?"

Ayumi laughs. "He'll love it." She looks Kagome over. "Do you have lingerie?"

"No," Kagome sighs. "We'll have to move fast since we are pressed for time. I'll die if Syouma sees the bags." The store is surprisingly upscale. Maybe it's because she's never been in a sex store before, but she was expecting something a little seedier or grunge-like. The chandelier and the soft lights, combined with the classical music playing on the speakers, nearly convinces Kagome she is at a spa. The lady offers them a flute of champagne and hands them a booklet.

Kagome turns the champagne down but takes the booklet like her life depends on it. She flips through the pages with eyebrows raised.

"Now, that doesn't cover everything we have, but it is a good starting place." The lady leans over. "Is there something you wanted to try or just browsing?"

"Uhh... bondage for him," Kagome manages to say with a straight face. "Some toys to put on a show and lingerie." Mentally, she gives herself a pat on the back. Now that the idea of a video has nestled into her mind, teasing Satoru like he teases her, outweighs any feelings of looking silly.

Satoru isn't InuYasha.

"We need all the help we can get," Ayumi says. "And we don't have much time."

"Oh, I see." The lady eyes Kagome and circles her. "Meet me by the dressing room in 20. I know just the perfect sets for you."

Ayumi grabs Kagome's hand and pulls her along. She ends up with far too many toys than she ever thought possible and a small closet worth of lingerie sets.

Where the heck is she going to hide all of this? Kagome stares at the bags. Does it really matter if Satoru finds them? She closes the trunk and slides into the driver's seat. No, it doesn't matter, but... she'll hide the cock rings. Those can be a surprise.

Satoru crosses his legs and looks out the window. This last mission is far out in the countryside. This sucks. He's missing dinner and bedtime. One part of him hopes Kagome is still awake when he gets home, but the other part of him wishes she would get her rest. The old man and Kagome's mom are taking the kids out shopping tomorrow and he still hasn't decided if he and Kagome should go somewhere or spend the time at home.

He bites the inside of his cheek to stop from grinning. The kids finally have their own rooms.

"Gojo-san, did you hear me?" Ijichi asks from the front seat.

"Nah, I wasn't listening."

Ijichi sniffs. "I was saying that we have received more information regarding the blackouts."

Satoru rolls his eyes. Are they still going on about that? So what? "Yeah, what about it?"

"It actually had a positive effect on the power grid." Ijichi clears his throat. "And it is staying hushed among jujutsu society as to the cause of it because..." he trails off.

"Energizer bunny for the government," Satoru quips. "Yeah, that would be a pain if word spread." More importantly, it would put a bigger target on his children. For a brief moment, he thinks, this is the shit that would have set Suguru off. "You can head home after dropping me off."

He should visit Suguru's grave sometime.

"Are you sure? You aren't going to hit me if I leave, right?"

Satoru huffs. "Might slap you if you don't leave."

"Okay, okay!" Ijichi parks the car. "Please don't forget the veil... I'll do it."

Satoru rolls his eyes behind his blindfold as he gets out of the car. This place is deserted. Not like anyone would be around to see the property damage. The inn is falling apart. There's a hole in the roof and he bets it is moldy inside. The grass is overgrown, and a few vines are growing along the outside of the inn and over the windows.

A shame.

He sees the potential. This place must have been packed before all the negative emotions pooled together and created a curse. Satoru stuffs his hands in his pockets while he waits for Ijichi to finish setting up the veil.

"Gojo-san, please keep the damage to a minimum. There is talk about renovating the inn."

"Yeah, yeah. Now shoo." He lifts his leg and acts as if he is going to kick the door in. Satoru chortles at the panicked expression on Ijichi's face. "Man, you're too easy." Satoru laughs again as he lowers his legs and uses his hand instead to open the door.

Ugh, he knew it. The inside smells like shit.

"Come on," he sing songs. "Ain't got all night." Satoru pauses and then sighs. They always hide. Satoru walks down the corridor. The floor creaks. It would be better to demolish this place and rebuild it, but he's a man of his word, so he won't cause too much property damage.

He finds the curse, a creepy one with three eyes and lashes Mei Mei would kill for. It's round, with sagging skin that hangs down to its feet.

"Too much soaking in the hot spring, huh?" Satoru asks conversationally, not that he expects an answer, with it being such a weak curse and all.

It throws a punch at him and another. The curse jumps back and shivers.

Satoru sighs. No fun. He lifts a finger and shoots a red at it. "Oh well, at least I can go home now." He shrugs and heads back out of the inn. This was honestly a waste of his time. He inhales the fresh air. So much better.

Huh? His phone vibrates. Better not be another last-minute mission.

Kagome: Miss you.

Satoru smiles. His heart beats a little faster. He misses her, too.

Kagome: Are you alone?

He furrows his brows. Is he alone? Why does that matter?

Satoru: Yep, just got done with my last mission for the night.

He cocks his head to the side as he watches the three dots populate and then go away. Maybe she needs him to pick something up on the way home.

Oh, a video.

He clicks on it. Must be a video of the... his nostrils flare. He pulls his blindfold down. Damn near tempted to pull his pants down too. Fuck, he's hard. His eyes don't know what to focus on. The way she's squeezing her tit or the way her hips lift off the bed from the vibrator on her clit.

He sucks in a breath. If he grips the phone any tighter, it will break. The video ends too soon, but her chanting his name plays over and over in his mind.

Kagome: Are you coming?

***

A/N: I think the Satoru appreciation event will probably end up on his birthday and if the Kyoto students want to join, then I can see Jujutsu in general watching the event to see what Shippo can do.

"How many people has Shippo killed in the past?" - Not many as he prefers pranking over killing. But sometimes people/demons overstep.

"Are they going to take a test sometime soon?" - Kagome will probably take it just cause even though she's pretty much accepted it now.

Next update will be Sunday. I'm halfway through the next part for Twisted Desire. Decided to make it three parts so everyone has a POV chapter because I can't write one-shots, apparently. Take care of yourselves! Make sure to get plenty of rest and take your vitamins. Side note, I made a cinnamon roll cake the other day and it was amazing.