Wish, Wash, Fish
25 June 2006
Match 41 (22nd June 2006): Czech Republic 0 - 2 Italy
Match 42 (22nd June 2006): Ghana 2 - 1 United States
Match 43 (22nd June 2006): Japan 1 - 4 Brazil (bummer...)
Match 44 (22nd June 2006): Croatia 2 - 2 Australia
Match 45 (23rd June 2006): Togo 0 - 2 France
Match 46 (23rd June 2006): Switzerland 2 - 0 South Korea
Match 47 (23rd June 2006): Saudi Arabia 0 - 1 Spain
Match 48 (23rd June 2006): Ukraine 1 - 0 Tunisia
Match 49 (24th June 2006): Germany 2 - 0 Sweden
Match 50 (24th June 2006): Argentina 2 - 1 Mexico
Match 51 (25th June 2006): England 1 - 0 Ecuador
Posted byHocchan at 6:00 pm 0 comments
Ikimasshoi
21 June 2006
Match 30 (19th June 2006): Togo 0 - 2 Switzerland
Match 31 (19th June 2006): Spain 3 - 1 Tunisia
Match 32 (19th June 2006): Saudia Arabia 0 - 4 Ukraine
Match 33 (20th June 2006): Ecuador 0 - 3 Germany
Match 34 (20th June 2006): Costa Rica 1 - 2 Poland
Match 35 (20th June 2006): Sweden 2 - 2 England (Goddamn we should have won!!)
Match 36 (20th June 2006): Paraguay 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
Match 37 (21st June 2006): Netherlands 0 - 0 Argentina
Match 38 (21st June 2006): Ivory Coast 3 - 2 Serbia and Montenegro
Match 39 (21st June 2006): Portugal 2 - 1 Mexico
Match 40 (21st June 2006): Iran 1 - 1 Angola
Terrible news about Michael Owen. I can't believe it's happened. He was on for less than a minute when he twisted his knee badly and had to be stretchered off the pitch. A scan today has revealed that he won't be able to play for at least 5 months. Now England are left with three strikers, one of which nobody seems to want to play (why bring him if you don't use him in a match?!). What a pickle...
Posted byHocchan at 10:08 pm 0 comments
Furusato
18 June 2006
Match 24 (17th June 2006): Portugal 2 - 0 Iran
Match 25 (17th June 2006): Italy 1 - 1 United States (freaky game)
Match 26 (17th June 2006): Czech Republic 0 - 2 Ghana
Match 27 (18th June 2006): Brazil 2 - 0 Australia
Match 28 (18th June 2006): Japan 0 - 0 Croatia
Match 29 (18th June 2006): France 1 - 1 South Korea
Well... I hate to say it but I think Japan's aspirations of reaching the last 16 are over. The draw with Croatia today means that they'll need to beat Brazil by at least 2-3 goals and rely on Croatia beating Australia. And even then it'd need Croatia to only score one goal. This isn't entirely beyond the realms of reality but I'm not holding my breath...
Oh well, COME ON ENGLAND!!
Posted byHocchan at 11:18 am 0 comments
Iroppoi Jirettai
17 June 2006
Match 18 (15th June 2006): Ecuador 3 - 0 Costa Rica
Match 19 (15th June 2006): England 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago
Match 20 (15th June 2006): Sweden 1 - 0 Paraguay
Match 21 (16th June 2006): Argentina 6 - 0 Serbia and Montenegro
Match 22 (16th June 2006): Netherlands 2 - 1 Ivory Coast
Match 23 (16th June 2006): Mexico 0 - 0 Angola
Posted byHocchan at 3:47 pm 0 comments
Renai Revolution 21
14 June 2006
Match 11 (13th June 2006): Brazil 1 - 0 Croatia
Match 13 (13th June 2006): France 0 - 0 Switzerland
Match 14 (13th June 2006): South Korea 2 - 1 Togo
Match 15 (14th June 2006): Spain 4 - 0 Ukraine
Match 16 (14th June 2005): Tunisia 2 - 2 Saudi Arabia
Match 17 (14th June 2006): Germany 1 - 0 Poland
Posted byHocchan at 5:23 pm 0 comments
Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
13 June 2006
Match 6 (11th June 2006): Serbia and Montenegro 0 - 1 Netherlands
Match 7 (11th June 2006): Mexico 3 - 1 Iran
Match 8 (11th June 2006): Angola 0 - 1 Portugal
Match 9 (12th June 2006): Italy 2 - 0 Ghana
Match 10 (12th June 2006): United States 0 - 3 Czech Republic (Ha! USA lost)
Match 12 (12th June 2006): Australia 3 - 1 Japan (Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!)
Goddamn it! Can't believe Japan lost to Australia. It was all going so well until the last 10 minutes when it all went to crap. You could tell it was coming as Japan played rubbish in the second half. It was similar to England's match but the difference being that England have a better defence than Japan. Right now it looks very doubtful that Japan will get out of the group stage unless a miracle happens.
PS. If you're wondering why match 11 is missing it's because it hasn't been played yet. The match numbers I have used are direct from FIFA's own website. Don't ask me why they aren't playing the matchs in the order they've numbered them.
Posted byHocchan at 11:27 am 0 comments
Koi No Victory
11 June 2006
The World Cup is finally here! And what a start it's been with a 6 goal scoring frenzy in the opening match between the hosts, Germany, and Costa Rica. This was swiftly followed by an astonishing 0-0 draw between rank outsiders, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sweden. TRI have really captured the hearts of the World Cup fans with their strong determination to prove themselves worthy of being in the most prestigious football tournament in the world. I, for one, am supporting them as my third team (Japan being my first and England a very close second). It may be tough though as they have to play England next. Hopefully Sweden will lose their next match against Paraguay. /laugh
Match 1 (9th June 2006): Germany 4 - 2 Costa Rica
Match 2 (9th June 2006): Poland 0 - 2 Ecuador
Match 3 (10th June 2006): England 1 - 0 Paraguay
Match 4 (10th June 2006): Trinidad and Tobago 0 - 0 Sweden
Match 5 (10th June 2006): Argentina 2 - 1 Ivory Coast
Can't wait for tomorrow's match between Japan and Australia. GAMBARE NIPPON!!! NIPPON ICHI!!!
Posted byHocchan at 11:31 am 0 comments
1 Litre of Tears - Episode 2
10 June 2006
Shioka asks Dr Mizuo for the MRI scans of Aya's brain so she may get a second opinion from a different hospital in the chance that there's been a mistake in the diagnosis. Fully determined not to accept the situation she purchases lots of books on the subject and also does lots of research on the internet at her workplace. At the moment Shioka is the only member of the family who knows the full facts but she's keeping them secret for the time being. It's hard to tell whether it's because she doesn't want to accept it yet or it's because she does want to break this devastating news to Aya. Either way you can really feel her pain and her torture as she tries to put on a cheerful face for everyone. This begins to take it's toll as we can see during one home visit to a family's home when she raises her voice in anger at the mother who doesn't seem to care about her children's diet.
At the basketball meeting the team that will be playing a practice match against another school that coming Sunday is announced. Aya makes it into the team, much to her surprise. Meanwhile in the biology club we find out in a passing comment that Asou once had an older brother who unfortunately died. However, the circumstances of his death are not revealed yet. From a flashback scene to a camping trip during Asou's childhood you can see that the brothers were really close.
Aya visits the hospital once again in order to get the wound on her chin cleaned before the upcoming basketball match and meets a young girl whose father is in a ward there. They play catch with a ball outside and Aya misses an easy catch. Seeing this the girl asks Aya if she has the same disease as her father and mentions that he had the same sort of wound on the chin. This causes Aya to become suspicious about her own illness.
Shioka discovers the name of the doctor who is at the forefront of research concerning Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease and sets off one night to meet him. She pleads in vain for some sort of medicine or operation that could save Aya but the doctor tells her that she must face facts and begin to prepare for the tough times ahead. Despondent, Shioka heads back home to break the news to Mizuo who cannot seem to accept the news either. They decide to continue to keep the news a secret from Aya. Personally I felt they were wrong to do this but I can understand the painful decisions they were making.
Aya and Asou find a stray puppy in the park. As Asou explains the origins of the relationship between humans and dogs to Aya you can see that she is growing to like him more and more. One night after the basketball match Aya goes to feed the puppy and runs into Asou. It begins to rain and they decide to take the puppy back to Aya's home, even though they probably wouldn't be able to keep it due to the fact her family runs a food business. When they get back Asou gets introduced to the family and as a thank you for helping Aya on the entrance exam day they invite him to stay for dinner. They decide that they can keep the puppy and they name him Ganmo after Asou's suggestion. This is a really funny scene as Mizuo becomes all protective and tries to intimidate Asou. You can tell that Aya's parents only allowed them to keep the puppy because of Aya's illness.
After another visit to the hospital for a check up Aya runs into the little girl again. They go back to the girl's father's room and Aya is shocked to see the condition that he is in. He seems to be in the latter parts of the illness and can no longer speak so must use a board of kana to communicate with his daughter. This is a very tough scene to watch as you can't help but feel sorry for the little girl and her father. She's so young and yet she seems so cheerful despite her father's terrible health. This leads you to feel dread for Aya as you know that she will eventually be in the same position. As Aya walks back home with her mother she asks bluntly what exactly is the illness that she has. Shioka doesn't reply and keeps on walking as the episodes ends.
You can tell from this episode that Aya is getting closer and closer to finding out her disease, even though her parents are keeping it from her. In one hand you want her to find out so she can begin to prepare herself, but on the other hand you really don't want her to face the heartbreak of knowing the truth.
Posted byHocchan at 7:29 pm 0 comments
Soyokaze Ni Yorisotte
08 June 2006
First of all let me apologise for the delay in the report for the second episode of "1 Tears of Tears", it's coming I promise! I've just been a little pre-occupied with other stuff at the moment. One of those being watching lots of videos on 'YouTube'. I mainly look for all the funny Japanese TV shows that people have uploaded. Recently I've been enjoying a lot of TV shows that 'Morning Musume' and 'SMAP' appear in. They make all manner of comedy programmes where they get up to the strangest of things, but all in a wholesome, family orientated manner. That's one thing I miss about TV over here in the UK, we've lost a great many of the great variety shows that used to bring families together around the TV. Now all we have are endless Big Brother series intermixed with the 2,583rd Strictly Pop X Factor Idol. I really wish I could get access to Japanese TV whenever I wanted, that'd be heaven! Anywho, if you're interested you can take a look at some of the favourite videos at: YouTube Profile. The 'Mechiake' ones featuring 'Morning Musume' are awesome, especially the "Bakajo" special.
Posted byHocchan at 7:31 am 0 comments
1 Litre of Tears - Episode 1
02 June 2006
These are the words the episodes starts with. Roughly translated it means, "This is nothing special, it's just a record of a girl chosen by a special disease". We then cut to the inside of a school gym where there is a girls basketball match going on. Lots of people are cheering as the red team score in the last few seconds to win the match. It then changes scenes to an MRI scan lit up in a doctor's office. The male doctor, Mizuno, is talking to the mother about her daughter's disease; how it will affect her ability to walk, judge distances, and eventually talk. The atmosphere is very heavy at this point and the only sounds are the whiring of computer equipment in the background. This is a very dramatic start to the series and acts as a base from which Aya's story will be told.
March 2005, it is still dark outside as Aya opens the shutters on the family's Tofu shop. The whole family is up helping prepare the Tofu, all except Ako, who is still asleep upstairs. It is revealed that Aya has an entrance exam to Higashikou school on that day and her father, Mizuo, is fussing over her. Aya's mother, Shioka, asks Aya to pass her some Tofu. As Aya tries to place a piece of Tofu into a bowl she misses and the Tofu ends up on the floor. The whole family laughs it off but we as the viewer can't help but feel this is the beginning of the terrible time ahead.
Aya, her 2 sisters, Ako and Rika, and her brother, Hiroki are preparing to leave for school when Mizuo insists that they take a photo outside of the shop. Reluctantly they agree and a picture is taken. Everyone departs after and Aya is shown running down the street, leaping into the air as the scene freezes. The short title sequence is now shown of an unfolding piece of notepaper, teardrops revealing the words, "1 Rittoru no Namida".
We see Aya on the bus on her way to the entrance exam. She falls asleep due to staying up very late the night before and ends up missing her stop. We also see Asou at the entrance to the school as he turns away and leaves. He doesn't seem to have any intention of taking the exam. Aya wakes up to find she's going to be late. She gets off at the next stop and starts to run, panicking at the prospect of being late. A few steps into the run she trips and falls, spilling the contents of her bag onto the pavement. Quickly picking them up she sets off running again. We see Asou again, unlocking his bike which is parked upon a bridge next to countless others. We hear a crash as Aya once again stumbles and falls, pushing most of the bikes over. This time the fall is more serious and there appears to be a bad cut on her knee. As Aya gathers up her belongings it begins to rain quite heavily. She starts to hobble along when Asou pulls up alongside and tells her to get on. They make it to the school and Aya gets her knee patched up in the nurse's office. Asou gets up to leave but it stopped by the teacher coming in to inform them that the two can still take the exam, much to Asou's dismay. I liked the sequence as it shows Asou is a caring person, despite his cold exterior.
It turns to results day and we see that Aya and her friend, Mari, have passed. Aya's basketball senpai, Kawamoto, comes over to congratulate her and we hear that Aya has had a crush on him since 11. Cut to Asou's house and we learn that he has also passed. His parents congratulate him but he seems very distant. There appears to be some conflict in the family but it isn't revealed why yet.
On the first day of Higashikou we find out that Asou and Aya have been chosen to be class presidents, and as a result need to pick out a song for the choir competition coming up. They try to discuss this within the lass but they all seem to be uninterested. You really feel like slapping the lot of them at this point. The next day we see Aya running once again from her home on the way to school. This time, however, she trips and falls badly onto her chin. Her parents rush over and Shioka ends up taking Aya to hospital. While they are there Aya runs into Asou. There then follows a cute scene between them where Asou tells a few lies about him having an incurable disease and dating the nurses. Aya notices that quite a few doctors seem to know Asou and enquires why. He tells her that his father is a senior doctor there, which Aya takes to be another lie even though it's actually true.
Later on that day Aya is taken in to see Dr Mizuno where they conduct a few co-ordination tests. It seems that she has some troubles with them so they take her for an MRI scan of the brain. Shioka is informed that Aya has 'Spinocerebellar Degeneration Disease' for which there isn't a cure. Here Dr Mizuno tells Shioka about the details of the disease in a similar scene to the opening sequence. This heartbreaking moment is shown between scenes of Aya giving a very uplifting speech to the class in an attempt to get them to choose a song. This creates a very bittersweet ending to the episode. The heartwrenching moment occurs when we hear Aya saying that they've got lots of time and that taking the long route isn't a problem, while we as the viewer know this is simply not true. It almost seems cruel.
As a first episode it isn't drastically sad but it makes you want to keep watching to see how Aya, her family and her friends deal with the terrible disease. The cast do a great job of making you warm to them, even in just the one episode. Sawajiri Erika does a great job as Aya and you instantly feel close to her as a character. Her energetic demeanour and happy smile are very infectious and you have see that she affects all those around here.
Sorry for the very long synopsis but I wanted to get across the important moments. The next few should be shorter and more about my feelings about the events rather than just pure reporting.
Posted byHocchan at 10:15 pm 0 comments
