And then the battle for the tickets for the public screening for 嵐ワクワク学校 (Arashi Waku Waku Gakkou) starts this afternoon.
12.01pm logged on to Shaw Website.
- keeps hanging, keeps refreshing - 12.20pm managed to select seats. 12.21pm OMG! I was kicked out by the system! I was already at the payment stage!!! 12.24pm Keep refreshing. 嵐ワクワク学校 page is not appearing.
Verdict... 嵐ワクワク学校 tickets sold out in 24 minutes?!
***Fortunately, Lady Luck was smiling upon my two friends... 托他们的福，我也得了一票！***
Wonder if Shaw will add another screening? It is really lucrative. A theatre's worth of $50 each tickets sold within half an hour.
Wonder what the battlefield will be like if 嵐 ever has an event in person in Singapore. Will the tickets be sold in seconds regardless of price???
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to watching 嵐 on the big screen! :D 楽しみ！
Not enough of "After-Dinner Mysteries 謎解きはディナーのあとで (Nazotoki wa dina no atode)"? Then, catch up on the making of the movie:
あなたも「謎解きはディナーのあとで」のファンですか？じゃあ、映画のあとで、「謎解きはディナーのあとで」の特集をご覧ください。
Still not enough? Why not (re-)visit the places that the filming took place?
物足りないですか？たったら、自分で旅しましょうか？シンガポールの撮影ところへ。
Marina Bay Sands
Opening scenes with Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
最初は Marina Bay Sands (MBS)の撮影です。
In the day, like in the movie...
昼の MBS、映画のような…
At night, MBS lights up...
夜の MBS も素敵ね…
Probably, the first time that MBS is featured on Japan national television, would be the Softbank ad which starred SMAP:
多分この SMAP が参加するの Softbank CM は MBS が日本テレビをデビューのときでした。
Yup, MBS is the one with the infinity pool.
そうです、あのすごいプールは MBS にあります。
Packed with lavish hotel suites, loads of shops and eating options, theatre, even a museum, MBS has it all. It is also one of the best locations to observe fireworks displays for locals.
贅沢ホテルだけでわなく、いろな店やレストラン、劇場、博物館までがあります。
How to get there? アクセスは？
Take the MRT to Bayfront Station. You won't miss the exits to MBS. (Yeah, there's more than one exit to MBS)
地下鉄(MRT という乗り物)を乗って、 Bayfront 駅まで。 MBS 入り口は一とつだけではない。見つけるは簡単だ。
And of course, the main filming site, the Superstar Virgo, luxurious ship. Like 北川景子 has described, it's like an island by itself.
もちろん、大部撮影がとるの場所は Superstar Virgo です。北川景子と言ったとおり、あの船は島みたいだ。いろな設備があります。
P.S: I have yet to try out any Star Cruise ride, do let me know how it was!
Merlion Park
How can we forget Merlion, the icon of Singapore?
P.S: The above advertisment never fails to tickle me. :P
Merlion Park is located at the heart of Singapore, near many tourist attractions such as MBS, the Singapore Flyer, Singapore River. Unfortunately when the crew was filming the K-Lion ceremony scene, the Merlion was under renovation, as 椎名桔平 has shared in the making-of-the-movie video. Seriously, in all my life as a Singaporean, I have only seen the Merlion being boarded once, in my own eyes, and that was for the Art Installation of the Merlion Hotel. Hence, it is actually pretty lucky for the crew to see the Merlion-on-holiday, as it's very rare!
Merlion Park はシンガポールの中心であって、近くはいろな観光名所があります。例えば MBS とか Singapore Flyer とか Singapore River があります。一年前、 K-Lion の式を撮影のとき、Merlion が修復工事をしました。椎名桔平も特集で残念の気持ちを伝われました。でも、シンガポール人の私も、一回だけMerlionの休み中の姿が見ました。あれは、日本人アーティストの西野達氏のシンガポールビエンナーレの参加作品- Merlion Hotel の立った時だけです。だから、 Merlion の休み中の姿が見えれることもらーキと思いませんか？すこく、珍しいだから。
How to get there? アクセスは？
Take MRT to Raffles Place MRT, and use Exit H.
地下鉄(MRT という乗り物)を乗って、Raffles Place 駅まで。H 出口を使ってください。
Can't forget the "I'm flying!" scene from "After-Dinner Mysteries"? Here's your chance to try it yourself on the water taxi, which cruises along the Singapore River. Soak in the cityscape view as you romance with your partner.
あの「謎解きはディナーのあとで」の"I'm flying!"シンが忘れない？じゃあ、今回は Singapore River に water taxi の上で自分でやって見ましょう！ロマンの時も、シンガポールの景色をたっぶり見ましょう。
Lastly, the filming site for the ending scene, Raffles Hotel. Seems like 桜井翔 and other casts have stayed here during their movie shoot too.
最後の撮影場所は Raffles Hotel です。桜井翔とほかのカスト皆さんはあそこ泊まれたらしい。
26 July 2013. 7pm.
A moment of elation, when my friend informed me that she has won a pair of World Movie Premiere tickets for "謎解きはディナーのあとで After-Dinner Mysteries" from Golden Village Club! We have been trying to get our hands on the tickets for the past one week, since the ticket contests were open for entry.
This is the first time an 嵐 member has held a public event in Singapore! This time Singapore is picked because the location shoot for the movie was in Singapore - Raffles Hotel, MBS, Merlion Park, Star Virgo, Harbourfront...
It was definitely a period of sweet relief from my bad day and I spent the night rambling my belongings, looking for Arashi goods in excitement. And I found this:
TIP
In future, when I am buying Arashi goods, I am going to zoom in on big uchiwas (fans) and bags! They are the most practical for such events!
27 July 2013. 5.30pm.
Wow... look at the crowd at the Red Carpet Event at MBS Expo.
We came too late, unable to join the other Singaporean fans along the carpet area.
But wow... there are actually quite a number of Japanese fans who flown in to catch a glimpse of the cast.
27 July 2013. 6.30pm.
They are here!!! 嵐 fans, scream!
27 July 2013. 7pm.
"謎解きはディナーのあとで After-Dinner Mysteries" started.
Packed with more punch, unexpected twist, and pockets of humour. I really enjoyed the movie. Do you remember Nodame's teacher, Franz Strezemann, the really funny guy in "Nodame Cantabile"? The actor, 竹中直人, also appears on "After-Dinner Mysteries", too, livening up the mood.
Of course, 桜井翔 looked as 格好いい as before. (Mmmm.. I think this is my first time seeing him on the big screen!)
Do remember to catch "謎解きはディナーのあとで After-Dinner Mysteries" on the big screens when it opens on 22 August!
27 July 2013. 9.20pm.
After the movie screening, Director Masato Hijikata, Sho Sakurai *scream*, Keiko Kitagawa and Shiina Kippei joined us on stage for the interview led by 杨君伟.
Ok, I take back my words. 桜井翔 looked much better in person! Though he looks very small from where I was seated. (I'm on the second floor!)
And here are some snippets for fellow 嵐 fans: (The video quality is not good, but the sound capture is not bad.)
桜井翔 greeting Singaporean fans in Singlish :D His English opening peppered with our local favourites like "alamak", "hor", and even Malay greeting "terima kasih" which means "Thank you", surprised many of us. 好亲民啊！
桜井翔 shared about his makan experience in Singapore. P.S: He seemed to like our chicken rice a lot.
This segment is in Japanese. Hence here's a fan service, by me, translated in English. Pardon any amateur mistakes. :P
I've tried the chicken rice in Singapore. *cheers from the crowd- proud of our hawker heroes!* At a place which I think it's called Little India. It looked like a food court, somewhat like yattai (outdoor food stalls in Japan). I sat together with the locals. There were 2 girls, one of them was eating, and I sat near them. However, no one noticed me. *"Eh?!" from the crowd. Yeah. We can't believe no one has spotted him! He is so famous/格好いい/etc~* *Tickled by our response* Thank you! *cheers from crowd* It was delicious. After I returned to Japan, I ate Singapore Chicken Rice again (in Japan). But as expected, the local one in Singapore tasted better. If I am back in Singapore, I want to eat chicken rice again. *looks at watch* But I think I can't (tonight).
Finally it ended with a wide-angle photo shoot of the cast and the Director with the audience.
And that marked the end of a magical night.
Btw. 桜井翔 left on a midnight flight back to Japan after the event. 真是来去如风啊。
*additional updates on 3rd Augusr 2013*
Golden Village will have having a fan screening on:
Date: 14 August 2013
Time: 7pm
Venue: GV Plaza
Complimentary: All cast poster
Price: $16 for Golden Village members and $20 for the general public
How to book: Tickets on sale here.
One of my favourite hobbies when I was still in Japan was to catch the thrice-weekly dose of Arashi 嵐 via the television variety shows. Back in Singapore, it became almost impossible to catch them. But coincidentally tonight, I managed to catch a past episode of 嵐にしやがれ in Japanese.
For every episode of 嵐にしやがれ a mysterious guest will be invited to share some of their best skills/ knowledge with 嵐. It's fun, mostly because 嵐 will not know who will be invited beforehand. Hence, it is quite interesting to watch their reaction and how they rise to the various challenges as the show progresses.
Umm.. I digressed. Back to the topic. For this particular episode I watched, the guest was DaiGo. At first, just by looking at his name, I thought he would be the singer, Daigo. But nope, the guest was the mentalist, DaiGo, instead.
The first impression he gave me was.. oh.. he's a magician! But nope, he was quick to correct that he is not a magician, as a magician performs tricks to surprise people. But he performs tricks to make people relax before him, and therefore allowing him to accurately read their behaviours and subsequently their minds.
I find what he taught in the show very intriguing. Here are some tips he share, in the chronological order as the show progresses:
DaiGo commenting on Aiba's and Jun's standing postures as he watched via the monitor before he entered the set:
1. When 2 people behave very similarly, (How do they rest their hands? Posture? Where do they shift their weight?) we can tell that their relationship is very close. Most likely, they would be couples. >> Ah.. I draw relevance to 夫妇脸. Don't they always say as the relationship grows stronger, couples tend to look alike too?
DaiGo explaining that everyone can be a mentalist like him, while performing the fork trick:
2. With observation (closely monitoring the body actions), understanding the human psych, clever use of optical illusion, physics and various science laws which he rattled on, everyone can do it. >> Umm... seriously, I think if you give me another 100 years, I wouldn't be able to fold a fork into a flowery ornament like he did. That fork trick seriously had me thinking he must have some form of psychic power.
DaiGo commenting on why Nino gave the slip:
2. Our mouths tend to slip. Even when we consciously not speak. Unconsciously, when the particular word/ phrase is mentioned, our mouths will move slightly, hence hinting the mentalist that that is the answer. >> Another one I have heard is about the eyeball movement when one speaks. If the person looks up towards the left, he is likely recalling a past incident, hence speaking the truth. But if he is looking towards the right, he is likely making up. Hence, telling a lie.
DaiGo sharing the meaning behind colours during the sushi guessing game:
3. Blue colour does not induce appetite; red colour is too close to the colour of tuna, hence he picked green, which contrasts best with tuna. >> I'm going to keep a lookout for the colours used for sushi plates when I next visit a sushi restaurant!
Kusano-san commenting on how he keep his cool before DaiGo:
4. Maintain a neutral stand. (DaiGo explains, as Kusano-san is a quiz MC, he has many years experience on maintaining a neutral stand. Once he is in a work-mode, consciously and unconsciously he has discarded his thoughts and hence, guests on his show cannot guess the answers from his expression) Kusano-san also clenched his left fist tight even though his right fist is the one which held the ring. This is to give the impression that both his hands are holding something.
If the bending of fork, and eerily correct guesses of the games does not freak you out. The last game probably did for me. Without looking, he managed to guess the seating arrangement of Jun, Sho and Ono. He explained that that he did that by actually coercing them into the seating arrangement unconsciously.
Yeah! I finished watching Gantz and Gantz 2. Today's the 2nd day of screening in Japan. :) The theatre was exceptionally crowded, with mostly teenagers making up the audience. I think they were probably drawn by star power though. Umm.. like me... hahaha.. seriously, if 二宮和也 is not starring in the movie, think I wouldn't spend 1800yen x 2 to watch the movies on big screen too. :P
Anyway.. first a disclaimer, if you intend to watch both movies, then perhaps, you should skip this post, as there will be lots of spoilers. I will practically rumble on about the many mysteries of Gantz, which will likely spoil your fun. Go watch them first!
@->- @->- @->-
Ok, so you have watched the movie? Here we go. I watched with 2 Japanese friends. They are both Japanese, so naturally, they wouldn't have any language problems when watching the movies without subtitles. And one of them read the manga (up till book 25), while the other finished watching the anime. So, the following discussion, includes their inputs :)
Mystery 1 - What exactly is Gantz?
The movie didn't explicitly explain this. So we are left to speculate. I think Gantz is like a game, whereby the game-master, which is that guy in the huge black ball, will choose the players. The players chosen are all dead, so they literally have nothing to lose to join the Gantz game, since by joining, they can continue to lead their lives as normal, outside the Gantz game. I think Gantz game is out of our reality realm, that's why only dead people are picked to join.
Mystery 2 - Why are the 'graduates' called to join the game?
In Gantz 2, a second black ball appeared. This smaller black ball is used to call players instead. Usually the huge black ball will select from the pool of people who had just crossed over to death, but this time, Gantz has specifically called upon certain people, and to do that, someone has to kill them first.
And hence a 'graduate' (other players who had played the game, and left the game after exchanging 100 points for forgetting the entire episode) is called upon to start killing these chosen people.
Mystery 3 - Why is Gantz so bent on killing Tae Kojima (main female lead)?
Gantz has tried to kill Kojima twice. Once by asking his 'graduate' to kill her via the instructions on the small black ball. And another time as an emergency mission to his current players to kill her.
My friend who read the manga, said that, in the manga this is how it was explained: Kojima has accidently taken pictures of the actual Gantz game (players killing aliens), hence she has to be silenced.
In retrospective, maybe, her manga are the reason she has to die? Referring to her drawings, they resemble the 葱-alien episode too much.
Mystery 4 - Why are the 'graduates' called upon to join Gantz game again?
In the movie, it said that maybe they are called upon to assist the existing players to kill the last boss, just like a computer game.
Otherwise, it may also mean that Gantz is running out of battery as Nishi (the very smart but selfish player) has suggested, since Gantz had been acting weirdly. Eg. real people are in the fighting scenes, and real people are being killed. Emergency missions, etc. And so Gantz is running out of time, and needed as many players as possible to end the last game.
Mystery 5 - Why are there so many aliens? And now there's the 黑服人...
黑服人 are the last boss, probably the most intelligent and strongest form of aliens who are coexisting with Earthlings. They fight because they want revenge, as their fellow aliens are continuously being killed by Gantz players.
In Gantz 2, the aliens have repeatedly questioned the Gantz players why they fight, what are they fighting for.
I think Gantz players are fighting for only 3 reasons though.
One, they have someone in mind to revive, so they are fighting for their loved ones. Once they get 100 points, they want to revive their loved ones.
Two, they just want to end the game. They hated the game, resented the fact they are chosen, but yet had no choice, so they struggled to get 100 points to leave the game without any memories of the game.
Three, they like the game, and violence??? I wonder if Nishi falls in this category. He is a deep character I can't really fathom.
Mystery 6 - Why are real people killed?
Gantz is running out of battery, so he can't 'masked out' the real people, or bring the players and aliens in an alternate reality... perhaps.
Mystery 7 - Why did the clone (黑服人) have to kill Katou in Gantz 1?
This is subtly explained in the movie when the clone stabbed Nishi's dead body once more to change its appearance from Katou to Nishi. In the manga, the alien has to stab the person/ body to 'download' information into itself for it to transform and clone him.
Mystery 8 - Why did Kei Kurono have to die in the end?
:( I dislike the ending. The ending says that Kei sacrificed himself and became the next Gantz game-master (person in the huge black ball). He probably asked Gantz how to stop the game after the entire room exploded, and Gantz had told him that to do that he had to be the game-master, and to be a game-master, he had to gain full marks. That is why he had to kill the last alien. The alien who cloned himself into Katou and Nishi, though deep in his heart, he really wanted to stop killing.
By being the game-master, means he can't return to the reality. So the movie ended with his existence being erased from Earth, which is so sad! Why can't people just remember him as dead, or having faded memories about him. He did existed before Gantz game afterall! But neh, he was just erased. Just like that.
I cried when I saw the scene when Kei's love confession message is broad-casted on the ferris wheel, all staged, waiting for Kojima. Kojima was there, saw the message, but she didn't remember him at all. (T_T)
But is it really the end of the game? If so, why didn't the last game-master end the game like Kei did?
By the way, if Kei had to die, I do hope he died together with Kojima though in that romantic scene. Typical huh :P I just hated the fact that his existence is erased :((
Mystery 9 - What is the message behind the 2 movies?
The recurring question in Gantz 2: Why do you fight? What do you fight for? Why are you following the instructions of a black ball?
And Suzuki (cowardly uncle) answered that he is fighting for his loved ones. Pretty typical of shonen manga... 大切な人を守りたいから。
According to my friend, in the anime, the message was humanity. The aliens questioned the players why they fight, why did they kill aliens? And many other ugly facts of mankind like selfishness, thirst for violence, etc. But then, Kei pointed out to them that, yes, some people are like that, humankind has these traits. But humans can also change, so given a chance, they can turn over a new leaf. Learn from mistakes and become a better person.
But I think the movie was trying to convey more of who or what are you fighting for, and also the theme of sacrifice. Marked by Kei's sacrifice to revive everyone who died in the game.
And that's all...
There are lots of Gantz goods for sale as well. My favorite is the 0点 T-shirt. Those who watched Gantz 1 will probably get the 0点 -> いたの？ joke. :P
Thank you... I managed to catch Nino-kun 3x on big screen this one-year stinct in Japan. ども ありがとう ございます、 神様!
In the latest Japanese drama which Nino-kun (whom I affectionately refer him to. :P actual name: 二宮和也 Ninomiya Kazunari), フリーター、家を買う, Nino acts as Seiji,a freeter, a young graduate who could not hold a full-time job and kept changing his part-time jobs, while he continued his search for jobs. But from the second episode onwards, a change is seen in his character. He started to stay in his construction part-time job, and searches for jobs more seriously, as his mother is diagnosed with depression.
Due to jealousy, the neighbours had been bullying the mother for 10 years, and all the while she suffered in silence. Finally depression set in when the situation at home got worse: Seiji is unable to find a full-time job and his dad is very disappointed in him. Eventually all three are unable to eat at the same table.
Finally after finding out the main reason for her depression woes, Seiji and his sister would like to move, but his dad refused, as he refused to give up the low rent of his current house, provided by his company. Actually, his dad had not been truthful. He would rather spend money on his mistress than on his wife. But that's another tale to tell.
And so, the scene is set, just like what the title of the drama reads, Seiji decided that he will buy a house for his family, since his dad won't. But it will not be easy for a freeter like him.
In last night's episode- Episode 4, it was especially sad, to see Seiji cry. As the sole caregiver for his mother, he had been burning two ends of the candle: working hard on the construction site, look for jobs, go for interviews, ensure his mum is taking medicine on time, bring her for checkups, etc; all the time, his dad just kept flooding him with negative comments: you will never be able to buy the house; your mother is just weak, etc. But ironically, it was the dad who caused all these troubles. His slip of tongue has given the neighbour a reason to bully the gentle mother.
The breakdown by Seiji, shows how important it is to support caregivers. For them, it is like an onset of troubles. Troubles just keep coming, but life still goes on. If they also give up, what happens to their loved ones who depended on them?
Mmm... I think HPB can consider using/ adapting this drama serial for their mental wellness campaign. All the touchpoints are covered: depression (and its symptoms), issues faced by caregiver and family members who are in denial of their sick family member.
Can't wait to see the next episode...
Btw I think Nino's acting skills have really improved. 很有内心戏的哭戏。
**The bullying issue in the drama really strikes a chord with recent news. These days, in Japan, the news have been covering on a bullying case, whereby a young girl aged 12, had committed suicide due to suspected bullying at school. She had changed school, and since been bullied at school.
Man is no island. We can't live alone. But yet, there are some people who will join the wagon, without thinking straight, and isolate one person, pushing him/ her over the cliff. It's really sad to see such news.
This blog post is dedicated to the book (which is not available in market): ニッポンの嵐.
嵐 (Arashi) is now the travelling ambassador for Japan, hence they compiled this thick book of 195 pages on different sides of Japan as a gift to all Japanese schools. It is not for sale.
At my school, you can't borrow it out either. I've made 2 visits to the library (1 hour each time) to read the book. :)
The book showcases the trips that the Arashi members each took based on the theme they picked:
Ohno attended art exhibition and also tried woodcraft making (making wooden spoons!) at Aomori Prefecture. At the end of the book, there are photograph contributions by each member. I think Ohno's pictures are the best! :) Great perspective... especially the wooden spoon picture.
Sakurai worked in the tea plantation in Nara Prefecture. He brought lots of tea leaves (handpicked by him) back as souvenirs. :P (Each member had to bring back souvenirs for other members from their trips. )
Aiba visited an welfare establishments such as old folks home and also tagged along a delivery guy whose company specialises in delivering bentos to the elderly (and often living alone). He covered the most prefectures out of the five: from Chiba (his hometown) to Kanagawa, Kyoto and Nara.
Nino covered his favorite topic, entertainment which includes games, in Kyoto and Tokyo. He is a well-known gamer among artistes. :P Lucky him, he get to interview the maker of Super Mario at Nintendo and the man behind Studio Ghibli, 宮崎 駿 Miyazaki Hayao.
Do you know?
Nino says his first video game is Super Mario! Actually it's my first, too, and probably for many others. Hahaha...
Nintendo started in 1889! And the very evergreen game series, Super Mario, make its first debut in 1983.
Jun took a trip to offshore islands in Shimane. He even visited a high school there! Gosh... how I wish he came to my school! (*_*)
The book also covered other short excerpts on the 47 prefectures in Japan, and snippets on the Japanese culture, living in Japan and festivals in Japan.
Do you know? The ラジオ体操 (Radio Exercise) started in 1928! They remind me very much about Great Singapore Workout, which started in 1993. :P I still remember the throwing rubbish action. LOL.
And finally here's a youtube video I found which compiles some of the pictures in the book. Enjoy!
Yes, I couldn't resist it. I had to catch 二宮和也 (Ninomiya Kazunari)'s latest movie, 大奥 (ooku). Initially I was a bit hesitant because of the steep prices. (1800yen for a person, 1000yen on special discount days- eg. 14th of every month/ Wed for ladies, and 1000yen/person for couples)
I was glad I went in the end. This is the first time I watched a Japanese period drama and viewing 二宮 from the big screen. I love his dramas. He's my favourite Japanese artiste :P
A sneak preview of 大奥:
It is based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. It is a historical fiction set during the Edo period. A mysterious disease strikes Japan’s male population, reducing their numbers to just 1/4 of the female population. Most male-dominated jobs are now being carried out by females, and the shogun is also a female too. The story starts from the shogun's inner chambers (大奥= ooku), with 3000 young men, and when Nino's character, Mizuno, enters ooku.
Mmmm... this is also my first movie experience in Japan. Watching a Japanese period movie... with conversations mostly in keigo... is challenging. I understood the sequence, but I can't catch all the conversations, and is quite baffled still, like, I still wondered about the reasons behind certain actions and happenings. I hope to catch the translated movie again, so that I can understand the story fully.
Neverthless, it was a great experience! I manage to catch Gantz's trailer and Harry Potter's trailer before the actual start of the movie, too!
Harry Potter is also available in 3D in Japan's cinemas. :) Good thing about 3D movies here, they cost about just 300-400yen more than normal ones, so the pinch is not that great compared to Singapore's.
Oh ya, in case you are wondering, English movies are not dubbed. They will be in English audio and Japanese subtitles. And of course, there are no subtitles for Japanese movies.
I hope to catch Harry Potter and Gantz next!
Oh ya, to complete the entire movie experience, I bought a popcorn set, which includes a medium popcorn and a medium drink, for 600yen. A popcorn set stand is also given. You can attach it to your cinema seat, and it works just like the mini table on lecture chairs.
You can choose between caramel or salted popcorn. Mixed flavours is only for large sizes, which is a pity, I love mixed flavoured popcorn. The popcorn was too much for me. Maybe because, I made a terrible mistake of saying yes to adding butter to my salted popcorn. It made me queasy.
So, maybe I will skip the popcorn set for my next 2 movies.
