Uchu Kyodai (Space Brothers)

（宇宙兄弟）

 

When you wander, don't try to decide by "which is right".

（迷った時はね

「どっちが正しいか」

なんて考えちゃダメよ）

 

You will never get to the best answer by that way.

（日が暮れちゃうわ）

 

You don't need to think with your head.
（頭で考えなきゃいいのよ）

 

The answer you can find exists at lower part of your body.

（答えはもっと下）

 

Your heart knows best about you.

（あなたのことなら

あなたの胸が知ってるもんよ）

So try to rather decide by "which provides you more fun"...

（「どっちが楽しいか」

で決めなさい）

(Story)
In the summer of 2006, two brothers, Mutta and Hibito Nanba, discovered a UFO which flew to the moon. In 2025, as Hibito has managed to become an astronaut set to go to the moon, Mutta has not been so successful in achieving his dream of going to Mars. That is, until he is accepted to join an astronaut training program...

Japanese manga series by Chūya Koyama which has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since January 2008. It has been nominated twice for the Manga Taishō, in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, it won the award for best general manga at the 56th Shogakukan Manga Awards and at the Kodansha Manga Award (shared with Chica Umino's March Comes in Like a Lion).


I personally don't have any brothers or sisters but this manga makes me think having brothers(especially good one like Mutta) would have provided much fun in my life. Not only Mutta and Hibito, almost all of characters illustrated in this manga are lively and attractive like real human beings living in their lives.

 

The reason why these characters are so lively and attractive is because I think each one of them has their own belief and policy. That's why their words can have power and appeal to many people including even adults.

 

 

The manga has been already animated in TV series and movie version was created. I think movie version is still not bad although it needed to be simplified compared with the original manga series due to the limited time etc.. The movie version may be good to start but I would like to recommend you try the original manga series at least once even if you don't like the movie version much. You will find much more depth and probably can't stop reading!

 

Motohiro Hata - Hatsukoi (First Love)

（秦　基博－初恋）

Goodbye, see you again

(じゃあね　またね)  

 

The string of our promises has tangled and we can't  untie it any more
（約束の糸が絡まって　僕らにはもう二度と解けない） 

 

The eternity we found on that day has already disappeared

（あの日見た永遠はとうに消え去って）　  

The blue sky above us is too bright so it even makes me sad...
（悲しい程　鮮やかな青空…）

I really like Hata's voice. I like also his other songs such as "Asa ga Kuru Mae Ni(朝が来る前に/Before the morning comes)" but this one has become my favorite even among all of his songs so far.

I don't know how his voice sounds like to foreigners but I think his voice possesses something nostalgic which can appeal somehow deep inside of Japanese minds.

Most of his music is not so light or fast but still quietly and strongly gets to our hearts like continuously falling raindrops. Please try it and find how you feel!
 

SPEC -heaven-

(SPEC～天～)

The true happiness can be only gained...
after you try really, really hard,

（本当の幸福ってのは…がんばって､すんげぇがんばって､）
 

fail, bump against the wall, sometimes are even betrayed by people,

（それでも失敗して､壁にぶつかって､時に人に裏切られて､）
 

 but still find your truely important friends someday
and fill your life with love and bond...

（でもいつか本当に大事な仲間に出会い､
本当の愛や絆に包まれていくことだよ｡）

(Story)

Saya Toma (Erika Toda) is a female detective with an IQ of 201. Takeru Sebumi (Ryo Kase) is a career detective with a distinguished background. They work on cases by postulating the "SPEC" of the unknown criminals and then deduce the criminal's unknown "SPEC" to make arrests.

A mystery occurs when bodies are found on a cruiser in the ocean. Saya Toma and Ryo Kase of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department are brought in to solve the case.

 

 

 I really liked KEIZOKU quite a long time ago but SPEC, created by the same director Yukihiko Tutsumi, became my favorite TV drama series again and this is the movie version after the TV drama(+ special drama) story. 

 

 

The combination of Toma and Sebumi has been always fun for me to watch like I enjoyed Shibata and Mayama in KEIZOKU. Unfortunately movie version of KEIZOKU was far from good compared with its TV drama series. However, I believe this was much better than KEIZOKU movie and can be recommended especially if liked its TV series.

 

I have to admit some portion of the movie looks a little tawdry due to the poor computor graphics but I also think Toma/Sebumi's character plus attracting story succeeded to cover it after all.

 

The ending of the movie was a bit mysterious but I've found the additional special drama("Zero") and movie("Close") will be shown this year(2013) later so I expect all the mistery will be cleared by those. It can be also a good reason I recommend you watch the existing TV series and this movie first to be ready for it!

 

 

SPEC 警視庁公安部公安第五課 未詳事件特別対策係事件... 価格：15,760円（税込、送料別）

【送料無料】劇場版 SPEC〜天〜 警視庁公安部公安第五課 未詳事件... 価格：6,766円（税込、送料込）

Naruto

（ナルト）

How can someone who can't even save his friends become Hokage...? Isn't it so, Sasuke?

（仲間ひとり救えねぇやつが、火影になんてなれるかよ　なぁサスケ・・・！）

<Story>
Twelve years before the start of the series, a powerful creature known as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konoha, killing many people. In response, the leader of Konoha– the Fourth Hokage– sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside the newborn Naruto Uzumaki. Konoha, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the current Kage, the Third Hokage, forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone else. This included Naruto, who was not aware of the demon inside of him. Years later, Naruto is tricked by the renegade ninja Mizuki into stealing a forbidden scroll that would teach him a secret ninja technique, but he is stopped by his teacher, Iruka Umino...

This is also one of the best known and popular Japanese comics over the world besides One Piece. The comic is created by Masashi Kishimoto and on-going at weekly Shonen Jump magazine.

Some people may say Naruto should be the true successor of Dragon Ball but for me Naruto depicts a lot more dark side of the human beings rather like Akira created by Katsuhiro Otomo, which attracts me in a bit different way from One Piece or Dragon Ball.

The most important characters in this comic are Naruto and Sasuke. Their characters are quite opposite and contrasted but they have their loneliness and own destiny in common. Therefore, they became friends and respect each other. However, their destiny doesn't allow them to be such friends but to conflict against....

Even aside from Naruto and Sasuke, there are a lot of characters having their own background and stories. It is quite fascinating Kishimoto can weave those and create such a grand stories by using Japanese Ninja as its background.

I have to admit this contains some brutal scenes for children but I also believe it's also a part of Ninja and wars Kishimoto couldn't avoid to depict.

If you haven't read or watched any of Naruto before, please try it. I bet you will get hooked!

AI - Happiness

(ハピネス）

 

When you smile, more and more happiness will be brought over the world

（君が笑えば この世界中に もっと もっと 幸せが広がる）

When you smile, everything will get better

（君が笑えば 全てが良くなる）

Let's get together by holding our hands and your hands...

（この手で その手で つながる…）

 

I heard this song over Coca-Cola's CF for the first time in 2011 and really liked since then. I think this really matches with Christmas atmosphere and they also created the different version for 2012.

 

One of the reasons this song has been widely accepted by many people is because of the Great East Japan Earthquake occured in that year I guess. Many people died and suffered by the earthquake and our world was completely changed in one day.

 

After the earthquake, we've reaffirmed the importance of connection and kindness among people. Although there has been a lot of sorrow, many tried to sing our joy of living as we should appreciate we've survived and keep going.

I think you can find that kind of mentality in this song. This song is very positive and beautiful but makes me almost cry at the same time for that reason. Check it out!
 

Okamikodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children Ame and Yuki)

(おおかみこどもの雨と雪)

"The person I fell in love was a wolfman..."

（私が好きになった人は、"おおかみおとこ"でした）

 

"He's found his own world..."

（自分の世界を見つけたから）

<Story>
Nineteen-year-old college student Hana meets a young man who sneaks into her classes for lessons and falls in love with him immediately. They soon start dating. One day, the man reveals his identity to Hana; he is a Wolfman and the only surviving descendant of the extinct Japanese wolf...

Japanese animation film directed by Masaru Hosoda, who created "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Summer Wars".

I really liked both of his previous works "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and "Summer Wars" but this has became my favorite. His talent was stunning from his earler works but this film will tell you he is going to be a true successor of Hayao Miyazaki.

Yuki reminded me of the sisters(Satsuki and Mei) appeared in Miyazaki's "My neighbor Totoro". Although Ame is a boy and has a little different character, beautiful Japanese countryside scenearies are also similar to Totoro.

 

 

Everyone would agree that Miyazaki's talent appears the best in his lively characters but so did Hosoda's talent in this film. You will see how lovely Hana, Yuki and Ame are like Satsuki, Mei and Totoro.

 

This could be really an homage from Hosoda to Miyazaki and Totoro but of course you can simply enjoy from the beginning till the end without any complicated thoughts. This can be recommended irrespective of age or sex so I hope English version will become available soon for you!

One piece

（ワンピース）

 

"When do you think people die?

When they are shot through the heart by the bullet of a pistol? No...

When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No...

When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom!? No!

It’s when…he is forgotten!"
-Dr. Hiriluk
（人は いつ死ぬと思う・・・？
心臓をピストルで撃ち抜かれた時・・・違う
不治の病に冒された時・・・違う
猛毒キノコのスープを飲んだ時・・・違う!!!
・・・人に 忘れられた時さ・・・!!!）


 

<Story>
The series begins with the execution of Gol D. Roger, a man known as the King of the Pirates. Just before his death, Roger announces that his treasure, the One Piece, will be up for the taking, causing the Great Pirate Era to begin. As a result, countless pirates set out to the Grand Line to look for the treasure.
Twenty-two years have passed since Roger's execution, and Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate inspired by his childhood idol and powerful pirate Red Haired Shanks, has since set off on a journey from the East Blue Ocean to succeed Roger and find the legendary treasure...

One of the best known and popular Japanese comics created by Eiichiro Oda. I think he is the true successor of Akira Toriyama, who created Dragon Ball. Both Dragon Ball and One Piece has captured countless number of people's hearts over the world but one thing One Piece is even greater than Dragon Ball is it's touching stories still for adults often appear.

One of my favorite episodes is "Hiriluk’s Cherry Blossoms and the Will that Gets Carried On!" but there are so may other good and touching episodes. (By the way, there is a movie titled "Episode of Chopper" featuring the above in Japan but I couldn't find it's English version... It's a good introduction especially if you haven't read any Once Piece before and cannot recognize Tony Tony Chopper, though.)

He also has great creativity so every character is attractive. My favorite character is Tony Tony Chopper(so cute!) and you will find your favorite ones easily without a doubt.

If you still think comics are only for children, please try this first and realize how amazing Japanese comics are!