Drama Review: Yukan Club

Sooo although I hadn’t heard much about this show, what I had heard wasn’t very good.. ^^; I have to admit, I was sort of drawn to check this out by Akanishi... (While I’m not obsessed, I am a bit of a fan XP) I still planned to watch this one casually, as it seemed like one of those shows where you could watch an episode every once in a while. I have to admit, though, that I did become more and more engrossed in the show and by the time I finished it I realized I was actually quite hooked and really enjoying it. If you’re looking for something to watch “casually” (or if you’re obsessed with Jin) this might actually be a pretty good choice.

Ok, plot… well there isn’t really much of one. This show is mostly centered around its characters, a group of six very different high school students that form the “Yukan Club.” Miroku (Akanishi Jin) is sort of your typical “cool” guy; he’s fairly passive about things, a good fighter and he loves his motorcycle. Noriko (Kashii Yu) comes from a rich and proper family and is very formal and traditional, although she can be really severe when it comes to men. Seishiro (Yokoyama Yu) is extremely intelligent, good at martial arts, and is overall quite poised; he is the planner of the group. Karen (Suzuki Emi) is the sexy, girly one who’s looking to marry into a rich family and is a bit on the prissy side. Bido (Taguchi Junnosuke) is the foreign-looking playboy who is feminine and skilled at flirting but tends to be easily frightened and wimpy. Finally is Yuri (Minami), a very tomboyish girl from a rich family who is athletic, obnoxious, and loves to eat. Somehow this motley cast forms a tight team with too much time to spare, and they go on various adventures and solve mysteries to pass that time.

I was pretty unimpressed when I first started watching this. Every episode has its own little plot, and I didn’t find the first episode’s story particularly innovative or entertaining. Parts that were supposed to be funny, such as the scenes with the Headmaster and Principal, I found irritating. I felt like almost everyone was overacting, especially the flashier characters like Bido and Yuri (although I think this was mostly due to character direction). Moreover, I found a few of the characters visually unappealing – Noriko’s haircut is terrible, and while Taguchi isn’t a bad-looking guy, I don’t think the blond hair was helping his case. Overall it just felt like the creators were trying too hard. I wasn’t really surprised by all the negative aspects, though, and I continued just watching and episode every once in a while like I had originally planned. That’s what was kind of nice about this show – you don’t really need to keep up with a continuous plot as every episode is a different little adventure you can enjoy on its own. All you had to do was remember who the characters are, which they kindly remind you of at the show’s opening (although the characters are so out there that it’s really not that difficult to remember them…) I watched other dramas more seriously and this was just a side one that I watched for the heck of it, and it worked just fine.

I have to admit though, about halfway through I started watching this a little more frequently, and ended up watching the last few episodes all in a row. I’m not really sure what got me hooked… I do think the stories get much, much better farther into the show, and I began to find things funny. Mostly, though, I was just starting to really care about the characters as a whole. While Yuri was over-the-top, eventually it became something to smile at and she became one of my favorite characters. Miroku, who was usually so “cool,” had a really soft side and moments where he got very emotional in a comedic manner, which brought some humor into his character that I appreciated. I think the winning factor, though, was the fact that, while it makes no sense that such different people could have such a close friendship, they somehow make it work. You start to see how the friendship holds and it actually becomes believable. After watching some behind-the -scenes and seeing how the actors interacted, I started to see where this chemistry comes from. The final episode has surprisingly serious moments, and the overall friendship theme was pretty endearing. I’m pretty easily entertained and I do have to recognize that I don’t think this is the highest-quality show, but I still ended up liking it a lot.

So there you have it. If you’re a Jin fan, you’ll probably like him in this. If you like very silly situations and crazy characters, you’ll probably enjoy the show. If you’re looking for a really good drama and are hesitating about this, I definitely think there are much better shows out there, but if you like friendship stories and are looking for something to watch at a casual pace, then you might want to take a look.

Cooking Adventures: Croquettes (Korokke)

Croquettes are a pretty big part of my culture (as I mention in my post about Belgian foods), and it’s also one of my favorite foods ever. I loooove the way they’re made in Belgium (I always need to have fondue parmesan every time I go), but I also love the way they taste in Japan. The Japanese word for it is “korokke,” and although it’s considered a “cheaper” food there and might generally not be as refined as it is in Belgian restaurants, I love all kinds of croquettes. While I’d seen my mother make them before, I’d never made them myself, so I was a little worried about the process.

I just made these with plain potatoes in them, as that might very well be my favorite kind of croquette. The first step to making these is to make good mashed potatoes. I just peeled some potatoes, started heating them up for a bit in water so that they become just soft enough to cut them into chunks, then I boiled them in salted water (I forgot to salt them at first, and added the salt halfway through and it was still okay, but you can always add a bit of extra salt after boiling them if you need to). A good way to check if they’re soft enough is to poke it with a chopstick – if it goes through, it’s ready to go. Drain it, and start mashing~

I wish I had a potato masher, that would have made things a lot easier, but I got through it just fine with a fork. Normally, if I were making simple mashed potatoes, I would have added milk, but for croquettes, make sure to not put in any milk! Add some butter, and maybe an egg yolk if you like (make sure to save the egg white for later if you do this!) Season it to your liking with black pepper and nutmeg. Make sure the potatoes are tasty on their own accord before moving on to shaping the croquettes. If you have time, it’s nice to be able to chill the potatoes in the refrigerator for a couple of hours so that they’re easier to handle.

Now to set up the assembly line!~




As you can see, I got out some bowls and a plate with different things inside. The first big bowl has the mashed potatoes, the second one has some all-purpose flour, the next one a beaten egg (or just beaten egg whites if you decided to put the yolk into the potatoes), and then the last one has panko (or you can just use bread crumbs).




Make small patties out of the potatoes (I actually made little balls, but you can make any size or shape you want, really); then roll them in the flower, dip them in egg, and cover them in panko before setting them aside. I discovered, due to how messy your hands get, that it’s easier to roll all of your patties in the flour first and leave them there until you’re ready for the next step. Then you can dunk them into the egg one by one and put them in the panko. I would suggest not trying to roll them around after they’re wet from the egg, as it’s harder to keep the patties together. Just let the croquettes sit in the plate and gradually cover them with the panko and reinforce the shape of the patties.

By the way, at this point, if you want to make croquettes in bulk and save some for later, you can freeze them in this state. I haven't tried this myself, but I'm pretty sure you can just deep fry the frozen patties later without any problems.

Anyway, you’ll end up with this! Ready to fry~




The next part was the part I worried about. If you have a deep fryer, then you can simply use that (when I go back to my parent’s house, that’s what I would use). If you don’t, though, you can try making your own home-made deep fryer like I did. I used a very tiny pot and filled it a couple of inches up with oil. I heated up the oil to high, but had to turn down the heat down to medium afterwards – so if you want to just put it to medium from the start, it may take a little longer, but it might be easier to start with. You can put a piece of panko or a drop of water in the oil, and if it fizzles, it’s probably hot enough and you’re ready to start frying.




Due to my tiny pot, I put the croquettes in individually. You might not have to do this, but it was easier for me. Careful not to splash hot oil onto yourself – try using chopsticks to gently lower them into the oil. When I put my first one in, it got really dark, really fast...




The panko ended up slightly burnt – although otherwise it tasted fine – but after that was I turned the heat down a bit, to just above medium or so, and cooked them for longer. I was still surprised by how quickly these cooked! If you freeze them beforehand, I'm sure they'll take longer to cook, but in general just cook them until they're golden brown. Play around with the heat to figure out what works best for you – but be careful, hot oil can definitely be dangerous!




Put the croquettes on some paper towels, dab the oil off and let them cool for a little bit. You should be able to break them open with chopsticks without too much trouble, but I usually use silverware to eat them.
They'll be pretty crunchy on the outside, but not tough, and nice and soft and fluffy on the inside.




And there you have it, a super tasty side dish! I had my croquettes with a piece of salmon and hollandaise sauce (which I'll go over in a different post).




Soooo good! Hope you guys enjoy! ^o^

Another way to view Japanese material

So here’s just a tiny dilemma I had that ended with a simple yet satisfying solution.

For the longest time, the only way I could watch anything Japanese was through the computer. I would download countless videos to my laptop, watch them whenever I found the time, and store them on external hardrives. The problem is, while I do like to focus my full attention on shows, especially if I’m watching them for the first time, I also like to do menial tasks or doing some homework while watching TV. Oftentimes, I need my computer for these tasks. This would lead to me turning on the TV (and watch stuff in English) while I checked my email or organized my homework or something. The fact that my laptop is pretty small also made it harder to do things like clean my room while still enjoying a Japanese show, which would also lead to my turning on American TV. This is a habit I do try to get rid of.

My savior in this particular predicament? To my surprise, it ended up being the PS3. I hadn’t realized this until recently, but most of the video files that you store on a hardrive can be read on the PS3 – just plug it into the USB drive! Now, not only can I watch my shows on a bigger TV screen (which is a huuuge plus, I have to say), it also frees up my computer so I can multitask. Also, because of the larger size, it’s easier to watch a drama with your friends without crowding around a small computer screen. I do like the PS3 interface a lot, so everything is just made much more seamless and pleasant and I can free up the space on my computer.

This is just a simple idea if you happen to have a PS3 or similar system as well – who would have thought you could watch Japanese TV with it?

Tweet Log 5 (January)

Continuing my story through tweets... start at the beginning here.

Go back to part 4.
Go forward to part 6.

*~*~*

My review of the drama Hana Yori Dango - http://culturequirk.blogspot.com/2010/01/drama-review-hana-yori-dango.html

http://twitpic.com/xp4lm - Ah, the streets of Tokyo~

Manga Nostalgia: .hack//sign Legend of the Twilight. Never played the games, but liked the anime ok; the manga was cute but nothing special.

Blog post: Summer Belgian Food Log. Ever curious about types of Belgian food? http://bit.ly/5suzHe

http://twitpic.com/xspn4 - The Sega building in Akihabara

Manga Nostalgia: Absolute Boyfriend. I loved the drama, and really enjoyed the manga too, although the end of it sort of fell flat for me.

Today I'll be celebrating Aiba Masaki's (belated) birthday with some friends! Haha it's a really dorky excuse to have fun XD

Blog Post: Intro to the group and members of Arashi! (嵐）http://culturequirk.blogspot.com/2010/01/arashi.html

http://twitpic.com/y8qmx - Gotta catch 'em all! In Akihabara.

http://twitpic.com/yctnf - Life-size statue of Evangelion character Rei in Akihabara.

Manga Nostalgia: Kingdom Hearts. Loved the games, but the manga... not so much. The story was way too rushed and I didn't care for the art.

Arashi! Arashi! For dream~ http://bit.ly/8sTm31

http://twitpic.com/yiqfr - Sony Aquarium - a really cool spot we checked out in Ginza.

Blog Post: Thoughts on some of the food I had in Japan! :D http://bit.ly/8WQPm5

Moved back to the apartment and school starts today! Busy busy~

Here's hoping I'll still be able to maintain my blog and Twitter account and whatnot! I'm optimistic about it thus far :)

It gets difficult to balance school with studying Japanese. Trying to create some of my own tips to follow~

Blog Post: Tweet log just in case you missed any or are interested in reading through them in mini-blog form http://bit.ly/880Q2q

Come join me! I'm taking: Learn to Read Japanese Manga with Rainbowhill and Natsuk... on eduFire http://tinyurl.com/ybb8e6b

http://twitpic.com/z2jzm - The awesome red gates of Asakusa.

Manga Nostalgia: Imadoki. A very short and sweet school story. It was so simple and cute; I enjoyed it quite a bit.

http://twitpic.com/z9h2m - Another shot of Asakusa~

http://twitpic.com/zea02 - This is where we offered our coins at the Asakusa temple~

Manga Nostalgia: Onegai Sensei – A short manga series about a student who discovers his teacher is an alien. Very odd, but amusing too.

Blog Post: Drama Review of Ryuusei no Kizuna! http://bit.ly/4pcWTc

http://twitpic.com/zkxqz - A shot of the bathroom from our hotel room in Tokyo - it was so tiny! XD

Have you heard about the drama Ryuusei no Kizuna? Read my review~ http://bit.ly/4pcWTc http://twitter.com/CultureQuirk/status/8169009916

Manga Nostalgia: Alice 19th – One of my favorite fantasy manga. The art is great, and I thought it was one of Yuu Watase’s best stories.

Sakurai Sho's birthday today! ^o^ Happy Birthday Sho~

http://twitpic.com/zumzw - The infamous fancy toilets! Although the features on this one from our hotel room didn't work XP

Drama Review: My Girl

This drama is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. I was really excited when I heard about this at first because it’s Aiba’s first lead in a drama! I’d never really thought he’d be a great actor beforehand, but I really think he did a bang up job. The little girl who co-stars with him is absolutely adorable too, so if you like sweet family stories with cute children, this drama’s really great. While it wasn’t usually terribly exciting, the warm-hearted aspects of the show made it a pleasure for me to watch.

Masamune Kazama (Aiba Masaki) is a young man whose dream is to become a photographer, although he isn’t really progressing in his job as he often lets people walk all over him. He dearly misses his high school sweetheart, Tsukamoto Youko (Yuka), from six years ago, who he had a great relationship with until she suddenly told him she was moving to America and wouldn’t see him again. Masamune has always been waiting for her, until he suddenly finds out that Youko had passed away. Through a twist of fate, he meets a sweet little girl named Koharu (Ishii Momoka), who he quickly and unexpectedly finds out is his daughter! With Youko gone, Koharu is left to Masamune, who has no idea how to be a father. The show follows the story of Masamune and Koharu, who develop a close bond despite the many obstacles they face.

From the very beginning I knew I would like this drama, as I tend to enjoy the cutesy family stories. Masamune has believable flaws and continuously grows throughout the show, and despite his clumsy ways he always has good intentions and is a loveable character. Koharu is one of the cutest girls I’ve ever seen and she’s so sweet, polite, and mature for her young age. The relationship between father and daughter is so heart warming and entertaining to watch; Masamune is completely clueless about things like cooking or sewing, and his tough work life gets in the way of a lot of things, but Koharu adores him nevertheless. I really felt like Aiba and Momoka had a great bond off-camera, and the chemistry translates really well in the show. The emotional moments are effective too – both father and daughter are still dealing with the loss of Youko and the rough social transition that comes with a family, among other things. I shed a couple of tears throughout this show because, like I said, I’m a sucker for these kinds of stories, but the majority of the time the drama is light hearted and leaves you smiling.

Having said that, I don’t feel there was that much more to the show other than its cuteness. The plot isn’t too deep or complicated, and some of the acting did bother me a little. Don’t get me wrong, I adored Momoka, but sometimes her character was a little too polite and mature, to the point of it being unrealistic. I was really impressed with Aiba, but I could also sort of sense that he is still a fledgling actor. The music was nice, but not spectacular, and there were several supporting characters I didn’t care for (except for Tomoya Sensei <3). Also, the ending was a little unsatisfying for me – and I mostly mean literally the last ten seconds or so of the show. I also just sort of wished something a little bit more perilous and exciting had happened at some point, but this simply isn’t that kind of drama. Just don’t expect too much and enjoy it for what it is, and the show can still be a very pleasurable experience.

Ultimately, this drama is full of fluff, and I really loved it for that very reason. If you’re looking for something serious or full of action, then stay away from this one, as it might be too happy-go-lucky for you. If you don’t mind loveable characters, a cute plot, and many warm-hearted moments, though, then definitely consider this drama!

Cooking Adventures: Tamagoyaki

I looove trying out various kinds of foods from all over the world, but I'm not very good at cooking (more like, not very experienced? ^^;). I have trouble finding the time and willpower to cook, but I really do enjoy it! I thought I might as well try out a new section of my blog where I have cooking adventures! Hope you enjoy!

As I just started my spring break from school, I have some extra time and resources at home to try out various recipes. Today I tried something simple - Tamagoyaki. By the way, I referred to this recipe from JustHungry.com :) So for this entry, I won't go into the recipe itself, so please go check out that awesome website! But here's my attempt at it~

Mixing all the ingredients is easy enough. This was my first time mixing things like mirin, soy sauce, and sugar into egg but it tastes soo good that way~



I kept almost forgetting to oil the pan before each layer of egg, so don't forget to if you try this yourself! Pour in the mixture, wait until it's a little cooked...



...then the rolling starts! For next time, I took note of the fact that I needed a different pan. Originally, I had just planned to use a spatula the first time making this instead of attempting to cook it with chopsticks. However, the pan I used was pretty small, and the rim was fairly high, so I had trouble picking up the edge of the layer with a spatula, or even a fork. So I was sort of forced into using chopsticks for the most part, which thankfully ended up okay.



Making sure the egg got underneath the roll was a little bit of a challenge as well. Also, in retrospect I realize that I actually let the egg cook a little too long, I think. I didn't want it to end up runny inside, but in the end the layers didn't stick to each other very well.



Another reason I need to use a different pan - it made my tamagoyaki such a weird shape! Like... triangular... which I don't think would have happened if I'd used a flatter pan. Of course, this was more or less taken care of by the next step (hey, for all I know it's supposed to be triangular...?).



Roll it up! Actually, this was a little harder than I anticipated, oddly enough - I had to unroll it and reposition it a couple of times to make it nice and tight. Let it cool for a bit...



はい、召し上がり〜〜



You can see the gaps where the egg didn't stick too well, but it still tasted just fine! おいしかったよ！

This is such a great, simple recipe! It looks and tastes so good and is perfect for bentos! I was satisfied with my attempt and will definitely be making this again. ^^

Lang-8: Looking Back and to the Future!

So, first of all, if you don’t know about lang-8, go check it out: lang-8.com. I talked about it in my Japanese Learning Methods post. It’s a brilliant website for any language learner. You write little diary entries in the language you are learning and native speakers of that language will help correct your entries and comment on them (and you can help others with English or whatever language you’re fluent in). It’s a great way to learn in an interactive setting, so I strongly suggest for you to try it if you want to improve your Japanese.

I was active on lang-8 for only a brief time before losing track of it, and I’ve just started to try getting back into the habit of writing diary entries. So I thought, why not add this as another feature to my blog here? Every once in awhile, once I get, let’s say, ten or so lang-8 entries together, I’ll post the corrected entries here as a blog in Japanese (and, rarely, Spanish). That way I can track my progress while providing more content.

So… Here are the first few corrected entries that I wrote a long time ago:


はじめまして！

Hello, everyone! I'm rather nervous doing this as I'm afraid to embarrass myself, but I might as well give it a shot - I won't learn unless I put myself out there! Mainly I am here to improve my Japanese. Although I've been studying for a few years now, I've only started taking college classes last year, so my grasp of the language isn't very strong yet.

じゃ、がんばります！よろしくおねがいします。

***

今日

今日はすごくいい天気です。 外でジョギングをしたいのですが、たくさん宿題があります。 文化人類学の作文を書くつもりです。 そしてちょっと日本語を勉強するつもりです。 今、私の母がラザニアを作っています。 あれはよい香りがします。 おいしそう〜！ すみません、みなさん！ 私は日本語が苦手ですよ。 これからがんばります。。。

***
ディル アン グレイのライブ

今日、私は友達にあう予定です。 車で私たちは新しい Dir en Grey のCD を聞くつもりです。

火曜日にディルのライブへ行きました。 すごく楽しかったです！！ 私はライブへはあまり行けませんので、とてもうれしかったです。 ライブの後で、CDを買いました。 そこにはたくさんの人がいました！ そして、としやさんとしんやさんに会って、ちょっと話しました。 夢みたいでした。

日本語を書くのは難しいですね。 ごめんなさいみなさん！XP

As I've been trying to write these journal entries, I realize more and more how insufficient my Japanese is! I know I'm a beginner, but it just makes me want to learn more and more! I ask for your patience. ^^

Honestly words (especially my clumsy Japanese vocabulary) cannot express how amazing that Dir en Grey concert was, and getting autographs from Toshiya and Shinya afterwards was even more incredible...

Thank you for reading!

***

今週

昨日、車でヒュストンからオースティンに行きました。 テキサス大学の学生なので、オースティンに住んでいます。

たくさん宿題があるので、ちょっと心配しています。 今週も来週も時間がありませんですが、テストの後に時間があるから大丈夫です

***
できた。。。

先週は大変でした。 期末試験がとても 難しかったです。 でも、昨日、さいごの試験がありました。 そして、今日家に帰りました。 私はホッとした。 家族に会いましたから、とてもうれしいです。
クリスマスが来ます！ いいですね！ 私の妹はクリスマスツリーを飾りました。 とてもきれいですよ。
じゃ、またね〜

***
冬休み

今、冬休みだから、私は家族の家にいます。 クリスマスはとてもよかったです。 本と服とビデオ•ゲームをもらいました。 とてもうれしかったです。 来週、大学に戻ります。残念です。。。

今、もっと日本語を勉強したいです。家で、勉強をするのはちょっと難しいです。 れんしゅうのために、たくさんドラマを見て、日本語のサイトを読みますが、また日本語のクラスへ行きたいです。

みなさん、冬休みはどうでしたか。

***
日本の旅行：どこがいいでしょう。。。

明日、オースティンへ行きます。 火曜日にクラスが始まります。 やった。。。

でも、うれしいです！ 昨日、友達の家へ行って、日本の旅行について話し合いました。 夏休みに日本へ行くつもりです！ とても興奮しています。 これは私の初めての日本旅行です。

日本でどこへ行ったらいいでしょうか。 ２週間ぐらい行きます。 東京と京都と大阪へ行くつもりです。 もしかすると神戸へ行くかもしれません。 みなさんは、日本ではどこへいったらいいと思いますか。

ありがとうございます！

***
クラス。。。

いま、私は大学にいます。 クラスの前にちょっとエントリーを書きます。 そして、アパートに帰った時にもっと書きます。

今年の日本語のクラスはむずかしそうです。 ちょっとこわいけど、がんばります。 ほかのクラスもちょっとむずかしくてたくさんあります。 毎日勉強するつもりです。

***
Miyavi!

いま興奮しています！　昨日Miyaviのライブのチケットを買いました！VIPのチケットです。信じられないです！四月にヒューストンへ行って、Miyaviのライブを見ます。

サインを求める時に、何を言ったらいいですか。。。日本語で話したいですが、ちょっと恥ずかしいですね。。。

***
Un poco en espanol

Hola~

Hace dos años que yo he practicado mi espanol. Se me olvida mucho! Estoy aprendiendo Japonés y entonces se me olvida todo el español. Quiero practicar de nuevo...

Ahora estoy en la clase de química (que es muy aburrida). No he comido mucho esta mañana y tengo un poco de hambre. En dos horas comeré con una amiga.

Ahh, escribir en español es muy dificil... Lo siento... Debo practicar más... Ah! Yo tengo la serie "Harry Potter" en espanol. Ya leí el primer libro y ahora estoy leyendo el segundo libro. Es más fácil leer:P Todavia no puedo escribir.

Tal vez sea difícil estudiar dos idiomas al mismo tiempo pero no quiero perder mi español. Ayudame por favor! XD

***

And, finally, here’s my new post I’m starting anew with:

おひさしぶり〜

今まで日本語を勉強してきましたけど、長い間lang-8をやってなかったです。これからはもっと日記を書きたいと思います。

私は今大学三年生です。大学は大変で忙しいけど、私は元気です！今は日本語の授業を取っていないんですけど、日本語の勉強を続けます。毎日漢字を勉強したり、いろいろな日本の番組を見たりします。大学の勉強も難しくてあまり時間がないんですが、がんばりたいと思います。これからもよろしくお願いします。^-^

Hope you enjoy these tidbits! And feel free to friend me on lang-8 :)