GoddessCarlie.com » Hana Kimi

Actor Profile: Horikita Maki

GoddessCarlie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:08:11 +0000

Name: 堀北真希
Name (romaji): Horikita Maki
Birthdate: 1988 Oct 06
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

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Where did I first see her?
Without realising it, the first time I did see Maki was during Densha Otoko, the series. How ever, of course, the first time I noticed her was in Nobuta wo Produce as Kotani Nobuko.

My Opinion
From Nobuta wo Produce, I began to see her everywhere! I really enjoy the shows that she is in and like to look out for her shows. That being said, you can really tell the difference between her real smile and her acting smile. It is really bad!

TV Shows:
Atashinchi no Danshi (2009)
Chance! (2009)
Danso no Reijin (2008)
Innocent Love (2008)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e SP (2008)
Tokyo Daikushu (2008)
Deru Toko Demasho! (2007)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)
Densha Otoko Deluxe (2006)
Kurosagi (2006)
Nobuta wo Produce (2005)
Densha Otoko (2005)

Websites
Official Webiste

Learning Japanese Through Hana Kimi

GoddessCarlie — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:09:55 +0000

At the moment I’m tackling Hanazakari no Kimitachi e – the manga.

While I was in Japan I bought home.. *ahem* 75 manga. Yes, it was heavy. You can check out a crappy phone photo here. All this manga goodness was thanks to the wonders and delights that is Book Off. It may just be the most wonderful place in the whole world. It sells second hand books at an awesome price. Just don’t go there on Lady’s day and expect to come out empty handed…

Never the less, looking at my wall of manga, I thought I better get started on it properly or else I all the exercise I got carrying the things around Japan would have been for nothing. I have flicked through a few, “read” a few as well, but apart from some frustration, little has been gained. I really need to sit down and “study” these books without trying to make it into too much of a chore.

So I’ve decided to tackle Hana Kimi first.

The Good

Hana Kimi is a wise choice. I’ve read it before, although in translated English. It was also a billion years ago, so I can’t quite remember the little plot points. Of course, also, I’ve watched the TV series. So I know the basic outline of the story which will definitely help.

It’s also a story that I enjoy, which will help a lot! I think that learning to read this will be exciting as I get to finally read it in it’s native language. The book is 99% of the time better than the movie/tv show!

The Bad

Today, when I got up to where Nakatsu is introduced I remembered that in the manga he has an Kansai dialect. Which, I guess, will be good in helping me learn the Kansai dialect, but will also be very tricky! We’ll see how I go…

The length is another bad thing. I got the new super awesome deluxe edition which has three or four books in the one. So while manga are usually short, sweet, and to the point, this one is a whopping 368 pages. I might not come out the other side (if I make it through at all) alive!

Another bad thing is all the casual language. Yes, I know my だ from my です, but I guess I’m talking about more colloquial language that I can’t find in my dictionary. It’s something that will hopefully become easier as I learn through context – from lots of encounters both in manga and in other sources – but the first time I encounter them is always a bit baffling. I do like to read aloud though, and sometimes through reading aloud I realise I do know the word from having heard it in dramas.

The Method

The method is rather simple. I am confident that I will have encountered most grammar points before, so I am hopeful that I will be able to work out most sentences. What I will need to do is learn to recognise new kanji and to learn new words.

I am literally just going through this with a pencil and a dictionary. I am reading through, and when I don’t know a word I will look it up and pencil in an English translation near the Japanese word. Some times I need to look up almost every word in ever bubble. Other times I only have one word a page. I am hoping as I go through more and more I’ll have to rely on the dictionary less and less. But for now I don’t know enough words to gain the meaning most times through context.

I have no plans to add any of this to an SRS program or study it in any other form but to just read read read. I hope I don’t get too bored with it, but if I do, I will no doubt move onto something else and you’ll be able to read about it here! But for now, I am just going through and reading. After I have done a section I go back and read it with excitement. I am breaking down complex sentences, translating it into English to make some meaning from it. I know from past experience so far that the more exposure I have, suddenly I can just read things and understand it in Japanese. I am hoping this too will get easier the more I do!

I have noticed already, only a few pages into it, that words I didn’t know before are being repeated, so it is already acting like a natural SRS program in some sense. I am making no effort to memorize or learn the new words/kanji. I am just reading, checking an English translation, and moving on. I hope to learn them through exposure, both here in this manga and in other contexts.

In the future, if I read through and realise I don’t need my note there any more for a particular word, I will erase my pencil scribbles. I can always look it up again if I forget (kind of like failing a card in SRS!).

This is my study method at the moment and it is a lot of fun

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Actor Profile: Ikuta Toma

GoddessCarlie — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:58:07 +0000

Name: 生田斗真
Name (romaji): Ikuta Toma
Birthdate: 1984 Oct 07
Birthplace: Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan

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Where did I first see him?
I first saw him in Hana Yori Dango 2, where he played Junpei (I think that was his character’s name!) in the first episode. Everyone was so excited he was in it, I remember that, but I didn’t know who he was… Fast track a season or so later, and he was Nakatsu in Hana Kimi. I wasn’t so excited about Hana Kimi at first, until I fell in love with Nakatsu the character, and then Toma. We’ve been dating ever since.

My Opinion
I really like Ikuta Toma a lot. In variety shows he seems to be a bit shy, not a complete show off, but has a good sense of humour. As an actor he seems pretty versatile… but who am I kidding? I just like to watch

TV Shows:
Voice (2009)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e SP (2008)
Maou (2008)
Hachimitsu to Clover (2008)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)
Hana Yori Dango 2 (2007)
Akihabara@Deep (2006)

Actor Profile: Oguri Shun

GoddessCarlie — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:32:47 +0000

Name: 小栗旬
Name (romaji): Oguri Shun
Birthdate: 1982 Dec 26
Birthplace: Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan

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Where did I first see him?
Without realising it, I first saw him in Densha Otoko, the tv series. It wasn’t until later, when I knew who he was, that I went back to rewatch and see him there. I can’t remember if I watched Hana Yori Dango or Gokusen first, but I watched both around the same time. It is around this time that I actively became aware of Shun. I’m not sure when I first became to really appreciate him as an actor, but I certainly came to admire him.

My Opinion
Shun is one busy boy. He seems to do a lot. I really like Shun as an actor – he’s someone that I would watch something because he is in it. He is pretty sexy too, in an odd kind of way – and definitely looks better with darker hair in my opinion.

Misc Facts
Shun has Pectus Excavatum, a disorder in the chest which makes a part of it sunken. He’s still sexy.
He’s left handed. Lefties for world domination!
He likes surfing.

TV Shows:
Tokyo Dogs (2009)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e SP (2008)
Binbo Danshi (2008)
Detective Conan 2 (2007)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)
Hana Yori Dango 2 (2007)
Detective Conan 1 (2006)
Densha Otoko Deluxe (2006)
Hana Yori Dango (2005)
Densha Otoko (2005)
Stand Up!! (2003)
Spring Story (2003)
Gokusen SP (2003)
Gokusen (2002)

Movies:
Hana Yori Dango Final (2008)
Crows ZERO (2007)
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)

Links:
Official Site
Japanese Wikipedia
English Wikipedia

Hana Kimi Special – Videos

GoddessCarlie — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:03:43 +0000

The Hana Kimi website has updated with some videos of the new special that is coming soon. It looks like they are having a lot of fun filming (but I haven’t watched all of the videos yet). I can not wait for the special to air, I really enjoyed this show!

Actor Profile: Mizushima Hiro

GoddessCarlie — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:57:46 +0000

Name: 水嶋ヒロ
Name (romaji): Mizushima Hiro
Real name: 斉藤智裕 / Saito Tomohiro
Birthdate: 1984 April 13
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

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Where Did I First See Him?
I first saw Hiro on Hana Kimi, as the dorm leader. I thought he was a bit of alright, and wanted to find out more about him. It turns out he lived in Switzerland for a lot of his younger years and so is fluent in English. I would love to hear him talk English.

My Opinion:
Definitely someone I would like to keep on eye on. For more than one reason.

TV Shows:
Tokyo Dogs (2009)
Mei-chan no Shitsuji (2009)
Zettai Kareshi (2008)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)

Websites:
Official Website

There’s Going To Be A Hana Kimi Special!

GoddessCarlie — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:48:36 +0000

Tokyo Graph have announced that the Hana Kimi special is confirmed. They wrote:

Tue, March 18, 2008 (4:33pm EDT)
Last summer’s “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e” drama series is returning for a one-episode special. Starring Maki Horikita, Shun Oguri, and Toma Ikuta, the show was very popular, especially among female viewers. It averaged 17.3% ratings, with the final episode reaching 21.0%.

According to Fuji TV, the special will take place half a year after the series’ end. With Osaka Gakuen getting ready for an upcoming Valentine’s Day event, Sano (Oguri) and Nakatsu (Ikuta) reflect on the final week of their last summer vacation, which falls into the timeline of the original series between episodes 7 and 8. The special also includes a graduation scene and addresses the relationship between Mizuki (Horikita) and Sano.

Filming begins on Wednesday, but no broadcast date has been specified yet.

Yay! I can’t wait

Carlie’s Japanese Progress – September 2007

GoddessCarlie — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:14:52 +0000

September is over and I’m looking forward to the end of October when it is Natsu Yasumi (Summer Holiday) time! But that is looking a head and this post is for (mostly!) looking behind.

Learning 日本語

I feel like I’ve had an epiphany. I feel like I’ve really moved forward this month and everything is coming together. Things are clicking into place and I suddenly understand so much more about the language. It’s a great feeling.

Japanese For Everyone

I’m up to Chapter 11 now. I’m almost half way through the book! Exciting!

I think that JFE’s strong point is grammar. It doesn’t explain things in great detail (I like the fact that Genki has longer written explanations), however the exercises are very good and most grammar points are easy to pick up. I think at the start of the book with no other guidance I would have been lost, but once you are over the initial hurdle this is a good book.

Anki

Anki is going good. Earlier in the month I didn’t use the program at all, which is bad. Last week I was busy clearing out all my sentences and then adding more. Last month I had 359 cards, now I have 533 cards. However, I haven’t yet been tested on 113 of them! I need to, next week is an exam!

OK, deck statistics time!
Correct over a week: 93.7% (253 of 270)
Correct under a week: 75.4% (1378 of 1827)
Correct when seeing for the first time: 85.7% (717 of 837)
Total Correct: 80%

Hana Kimi Overload!

I admit, like the rest of the world, I have become obsessed with Hana Kimi. I have watched the show over and over again. I feel like I hear a bit more every time. I do feel like my listening skills have improved.

However, sometimes when I watch the show with subs (I alternate) I realise I understand the sentence that I didn’t understand without subs – only because the sentence wasn’t said 100% clear or something so I didn’t recognise it. I know that people don’t speak clearly in real life so this is good, real-world-like training.

For The Future

I’m going to be talking a bit more about the upcoming months and my plans in my newsletter, but let’s just say that October is going to be a very busy month for me, finishing up my semester at university and all the plans I have for the website. Hopefully I can follow through with my plans, that would be subarashi! All though, truth be told, I think I’m going to have to pull some time out of my arse.

7 Things I Love About the Hana Kimi Special!

GoddessCarlie — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:37:06 +0000

Ah, watching the Hana Kimi special that aired before the final was good therapy. Which I needed soo badly after the depressing final episode. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the final episode was all that it could be plus more, I am so very happy with it, but it’s so depressing that the show is over and there is no more Nakatsu in my life. The special was very shiny, and brought a little bit of a smile back to my face. I’d apologise for the large amount of Nakatsu caps but I’m not sorry.

7 Things I Love About The Hana Kimi Special

(In no particular order)

1. Nakatsu

2. Jan Ken!

3. Lots of Man Kiss

4. Mizuki looking oh so かわいい and of Oscar looking not so…

5. Lots of boys dressed as girls.

6. Tennouji dressed as Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

7. Nakatsu

Hana Kimi – Episode 6

GoddessCarlie — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 06:30:17 +0000

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
花ざかりの君たちへ
Ikemen Paradise
イケメン ♂ パラダイス
Episode 6
Review This Episode: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Back from the beach, Mizuki’s parents visit! Eek! What’s a girl to do? Especially when she is pretending to be a guy… Meanwhile, Sano is still trying/practising/training – there seems to be a lot of Mizuki/Sano tension. Yay! Of course, Nakatsu steals the most screen time – but also all the laughs so that’s ok.

So Mizuki asks Nakatsu to stay in their room a little bit longer, and of course Nakatsu says yes. What follows is a absolutely awesome scene where Nakatsu questions Mizuki about love – and his background keeps changing. And then, of course, he comes to the conclusion that Mizuki loves him.

“Nakatsu… Chikai…”

Next up, much to her horror, Mizuki’s parents arrive. Her mother seems to act like a child and her father doesn’t have any personality at all.

This week’s challenge is to find some treasures hidden around the school. Exciting. In an unexciting kind of way. Just a bit of filler really.

Ah, some meat: Nakatsu senses the tension between Mizuki and Sano, and so sets them up – he watches from a far. Sano says something harsh but then regrets it. Before he can apologize properly, they end up arguing. Great tension!!! I want more scenes like this please.

Mizuki decides to go back to America, but her father and Nakatsu convince her otherwise.

Sano jumps again and makes it! What do ya know, he actually can high jump. Who would have thought. Mizuki runs for him, and *squee* they have huggles! And Nakatsu sees. Aaaaa the tension!

The challenge was highly crap but the Sano x Mizuki made up for it.

OMG The tension! The huggles! The Nakatsu!

Dumb challenge.

Up next… Mizuki is once again leaving for America. Far out girl, make up your mind!

GoddessCarlie.com » Hana Kimi

Actor Profile: Horikita Maki

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Learning Japanese Through Hana Kimi

The Good

The Bad

The Method

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Actor Profile: Ikuta Toma

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Actor Profile: Oguri Shun

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Hana Kimi Special – Videos

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Actor Profile: Mizushima Hiro

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There’s Going To Be A Hana Kimi Special!

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Carlie’s Japanese Progress – September 2007

Learning 日本語

Japanese For Everyone

Anki

Hana Kimi Overload!

For The Future

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7 Things I Love About the Hana Kimi Special!

7 Things I Love About The Hana Kimi Special

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Hana Kimi – Episode 6

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