The Pretty, the Ugly, and the all so Shiny in 5…

It’s a new year already! Oh, wow, it’s a new year already.

2008 was filled with lots and lots of Johnny’s loving (even the half of the year I disappeared for), so what better way to kick off 2009? Oh, and Arashi was hosting this year’s Countdown too. I know you probably aren’t here to read this opening blurb (if the comments from my post on last year’s Countdown are any indication), so let’s get straight to it.

JPTV Winter 2009 Season

Amazingly, it has been a year since I last posted one of these. And of course, once again, it comes after the start of the season. That’s not to say I haven’t been keeping up with dramas from the rest of 2008, just that for one reason or another I didn’t post anything about it here. Of course, I’m certain you haven’t missed these either, since unlike most other posts on the subject, this only covers about-to-air dramas that personally interest me.

You may notice that only dramas are mentioned this time around – that’s because I haven’t seen a single anime series that interests me this season. Historical Fantasy, Sports, Harem, the requisite action that doesn’t have enough of a kick to appeal, and bringing back the yuri. Okay, I lie, there is one – Maria†Holic – but that has the enormous potential to go wrong, since I didn’t read the manga it was based on and as a medium, anime likes slapstick far more than drama, and slapstick is beginning to get worn out on me.

Either way, long blurb of text, coming your way! As always, all summaries from DramaWiki.

Kimi will self-destruct in 4…

…this took way too long. Now I remember why I never tried to make a post on Kouhaku last year.

In light of the New Year, and the sudden turn my listening habits took for the few months prior to the New Year, I decided to switch up my Year-End programming and do what would’ve been unthinkable just a year ago.

Rather than Kouhaku Utagassen, I went for the Johnny’s Countdown.

This really isn’t a big deal, not like being a diehard Ayu fan but ignoring her own Countdown in favor of watching… I dunno, an Amuro Namie concert on DVD. But though I have a general knowledge of the pretty boy jimusho, the only Johnny’s groups whose songs I know are KinKi Kids, Arashi, and NEWS – and Arashi’s only up to their One album (from Happiness going backwards in their discography, of course) while KinKi is more of a “barely know”.

And so I can only blame my watching this on the fact that Arashi was hosting this year (the 10th anniversary, apparently). Readers take note – when I find a new obsession, I fall into it deeply (this is amusing in contrast to my normal lack of attention towards everything else). Please refrain from recommending things to me unless you’re a bitch like Raid (and will put up with my griping for months on end) or willing to take responsibility for my sudden lack of a life.

In the meanwhile, thanks to the countdown, Johnny’s has pretty much completely won me over. Raid’s never going to be forgiven for this.

1-2-3-4-5-6, it’s Ocean-sized NEWS!

NEWS‘ second album, pacific, was finally released. I get to say finally because they’ve been releasing pretty sporadically, and it’s been two years since the last album. This may be normal for other artists, but NEWS is a Johnny’s boyband – their sole purpose is to milk money. (Don’t deny it. I know you want to. For the sake of denying.)

So where’s Ms. 0?

If you’ve never watched the Alabasta arc of ONE PIECE, feel free to ignore the title. All you need to know is that NEWS released the PV for their latest, weeeek, and as usual for a boyband release, it is pop and insanely addictive at that.

And on the plus side, if you didn’t already know the days of the week in Japanese, this song will beat it into you. (Ashita kara mata nichi, getsu, ka, hora sui, moku mawatte kin, do…) Actually, it beats it into you whether or not you know it already.

Pirate Anthem → Karaoke Anthem?

While I came out of the first je_nyc meet-up feeling seemingly half-dead, I did get a bunch of things to ponder about.

For example, how a bunch of girls, ranging from their mid-teens to early twenties, with different tastes in Johnny’s groups, all managed to find one thing in common.

NEWS‘ only single of 2006, サヤエンドウ [SAYAENDOU].