Majokko Rikachan no Magical Biyuuden

Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 24, 2006 in Japanese TV

It can’t get any cuter than this! Majokko Rikachan no Magical Biyuuden is a Japanese TV show that ran for 60 episodes in late 2004. It featured the members of v-u-den along with other Hello! Project members. The series seems to be the opposite of a reality TV show:

J-Pop singers v-u-den are Ishikawa Rika (石川梨華, leader), Miyoshi Erika (三好絵梨香), and Okada Yui (岡田唯):

v-u-den

Xylish Chewing Gum Commercials

Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2006 in Japanese TV

These Japanese chewing gum commercials reminds me a great deal of photographer David LaChapelle:

Japanese Macintosh Commercials

Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 16, 2006 in Japanese TV

It’s funny but in Japanese the Mac guy seems much less snarky:

…I think it’s the lack of facial hair on the Mac dude!

Pretz Commercials

Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 2, 2006 in Japanese TV

Like their chocolate flavored cousins Pocky, Pretz are long and thin breadstick-like snacks that have the same kind of crunch as a pretzel stick. Here’s a pretty happening Marilyn Monroe inspired commercial for them which stars J-Pop idol singerAyaya:

Nodame Cantabile

Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 31, 2006 in Japanese TV

Episodes of the Japanese comedy/drama Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ) are now up on YouTube:

Some background info from Wikipedia:

Nodame Cantabile

“Shinichi Chiaki is the top piano student at his university and an excellent violinist, but Chiaki doesn’t care about playing these instruments as much as he dreams of someday being a conductor. Chiaki, however, has several deeply rooted fears about traveling, and so finds himself “trapped” in Japan. Because he’s trapped, Chiaki starts to question exactly how far he can possibly go in music, especially when he’s passed over again and again for others he thinks are less worthy of musical scholarship and fame.”

Here in the states Del Rey has also come out with the manga version which inspired the tv show:

Nodame Cantabile 1
Written by Tomoko Ninomiya

Song Hye Kyo Sells Ice Cream

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 23, 2006 in Japanese TV

Song Hye Kyo is a Korean actress whose nickname is “woodpecker” because she talks so fast. Her first big break came when Song co-starred in the KBS drama Autumn Fairy Tale in 2000 with Song Seung-hun and Won Bin. The show quickly became popular as a tragic love story.

Here is an ultra cute ad she recently did for McDonalds in Korea which is pushing ice cream:

Monkey Heaven

Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 7, 2006 in Japanese TV

This is a fun website devoted to the cult classic live action Japanese TV series Monkey (sometimes known as Monkey Magic), made by NTV in the late 1970s:

http://www.monkeyheaven.com

Monkey Heaven is based on one of the great quest stories, a 16th century Chinese epic called Hsi Yu Chi (= Journey to the West). The title Monkey is probably from Arthur Waley’s English translation. The tales, set in 630 AD, describe the demons and monsters who try to stop the Tang Priest Hs’an Tsang (Tripitaka) from reaching a Buddhist monastery in India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures.

The whole series recounts the exploits of the resourceful, brave, and humorous Monkey, the real hero of the fantasy, as he escorts Tripitaka, the pig monster Pigsy, and the water monster Sandy, on their perilous mission.