My Girl

My Girl (マイガール) is a 2009 Japanese family drama starring Aiba Masaki, Yuka, and Ishii Momoka. The summary is as follows:

The story revolved around a 23-year-old man named, Kazama Masamune. During high school, he had a girlfriend four years older than him, but she suddenly leaves to go abroad. Six years later, he receives news that she has passed away. In addition, she secretly gave birth to Masamune's daughter. Now the five-year-old daughter, Koharu, is returning home to Japan, and Masamune must raise her.

I had actually started this drama two months or so ago, but then I got distracted and school got into the way. Now that school has ended and I have several days' break before finals, I watched the two last episodes and completed it. ^^ Anyway, like the synopsis says, it's about a young guy who suddenly realises that he has a daughter. It suggests that a lot of hilarity may ensue - but not really, though I'm not trying to say that there weren't any. It's more of a drama with a lot of cute and sweet moments, focusing on the trials and tribulations of being a young and single father suffering from the sudden loss of his one love and pursuing his dream as a photographer as well as the cute antics and dynamics of having a new family. The topic of sacrifices for someone you love is also a major theme towards the end.

First off, the girl is absolutely adorable. I like kids from afar, but they tend to grate on my nerves if they're in my presence for too long. lol... however, the girl is just cute! And it makes sense that she won an award for her role in this drama. :) Secondly, although I didn't speed through the entire drama (I attribute that to the fact that I've been in the mood for more fast-paced, action-filled material), I did enjoy it. I liked seeing their relationship progress from "OMG, I have no clue what to do" to "I love you and I want you to be happy."

You can watch it here.

Saigo no Yakusoku

Saigo no Yakusoku (The Last Promise/最後の約束) is a 2010 Japanese tanpatsu, a special [movie-length] drama. It stars all five members of Arashi (Matsumoto Jun, Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, and Ninomiya Kazunari) as well as Kuroki Meisa, Fujiki Naohito, and Otsuka Nene. The summary is as follows:

"Saigo no Yakusoku" is described as a human suspense story involving the hijack of a major building. The members of Arashi play five young men who happen to be inside, and the story depicts their attempt to escape and their interactions with the other people caught up in the incident.

I'm not a diehard Arashi fan, though it's been known that I like a number of their songs. :) Therefore, I can say that the reason why I decided to watch this was not solely based on the fact that all of Arashi were in the production, though I can't say that it did not affect my decision at all. Even so, I believe this was pretty good, even for someone who's not a rabid fangirl. ;) The plot is pretty good and I can attest that it is suspenseful - I just kept on wanting more until the completed. The interactions between the characters were enough for us to know their background stories but not too much that it became too much and confusing. The acting wasn't bad, either. Not to mention the huge twist towards the end of the film/drama.

However, it was a bit fluffy at times. Everything was done for a good reason - not only "good" as in it made sense (which is always a plus), but "good" as in "too good to be true." I mean seriously - fireworks? There was only what, one or two of it anyway. It does give one somewhat of a happy feeling in their tummy, so I suppose I can deal with it. I still think it wasn't a waste of my time so I'll let it have four of out five stars. Maybe three-and-a-half, but only because of the fluffyness of it all. I did enjoy the plot twist immensely. :)

You can watch it at both DramaCrazy and MySoju.