The 14th Pokémon movie will open in Japan this summer, and today, the prominent guest line-up of voice actors for the special characters came together with a public recording at the Avaco Creative Studio in Tokyo.
The special voice cast is made up of Takahashi Hideki, Tanihara Shosuke, Ishihara Satomi,Yamadera Koichi, Nakagawa Shoko, and Daichi Mao.
The new movie will be released in two versions, “Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! The Movie: Victini and the Black Hero: Zekrom” and “[...] White Hero: Reshiram“. It is the first time in history that an anime is going to open in theaters in two different versions at the same day.
Both movies will be about Dread, the descendant of the People of the Earth, that once ruled over the land, who seeks revenge for the fall of his people with the help of the Sword of the Earth in the city of Eindoke, and our three heroes – Satoshi, Iris and Dent – who must stop him at all costs. However, similar to the video games,each movie will feature different Pokémon, many different scenes and lines, and different techniques used by the Pokémon.
Ishihara lent her voice to Carlita, the younger sister of Dread. She commented, “It’s a huge honor for me to participate in a Pokémon movie, since it’s such an immensely popular series worldwide. I received some strict coaching this time and learned a lot of new things.”
The mother of Carlita was voiced by Daichi, who never dubbed an anime before. She clearly enjoyed the new challenge, “I’m already having a certain affinity to my character who belongs to the People of the Earth (Daichi no Tami), since she has the same surname as me. It was a lot of fun playing the role of a mother with guts.”
For Takahashi, who voiced Zekrom, it was also the first time to work on an anime. He stated, “I was happy that I was able to challenge myself as a voice actor for the first time in my 40-year-long career as an actor. All the kids of my foreign friends are engrossed into Pokémon, so now I have something I can boast about.” Life-sized Pokémon characters were present during the special dubbing session for the press, and the veteran surprised everyone with his innocent remark, “Aren’t they cute! I want to take them home with me!”
The double-dose of Pokémon action will open in Japan on July 16th.
Big Bang’s TOP was rated to have the best current acting career as well as the one with the highest potential in his future as an actor amongst idols in the acting scene.
Three major broadcasting company directors (MBC, SBS, and KBS) along with 7 professionals were surveyed to rate the 11 idols that have been featured in dramas or movies in the past2 years. Idols were rated for their ‘acting career up to date’ and ‘potential for growth’; TOP was rated the highest of everyone, averaging 7.6 and 8.0 out of 10, respectively. Professionals praised that “[TOP's] sharp and bold image is appealing” (Ahn Hyuk Mo) and also advised that “it is time for [TOP] to broaden his acting career” (Huh Woong). TOP starred in the movie “‘71: Into the Fire”, winning the Best Male Rookie Actor award at the prestigious 47th Baeksang Arts Awards.
Following TOP, JYJ’s Park Yoochun placed 2nd scoring 7.0 and 7.7, and 2PM’s Ok Taecyeon placed 3rd scoring 6.6 and 7.6. Park Yoochun debuted in the acting scene through “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” and followed through in MBC’s all-new-series “Miss Ripley“, whereas Ok Taecyeon debuted through “Cinderella’s Sister” and followed that up by starring as a lead role in “Dream High”.
Reviewers commented about Park Yoochun saying that “he needs to keep his dry smoothness” (Yoon Suk Jin) and that “he shows a potential in melodrama” (Lee Daeyoung). Concerning Ok Taecyeon, reviewers stated that he is “serious [about acting] and has that star quality, but because of his busy schedule he lacks the time to put that much effort into acting” (Lee Moon Won).
Amongst female idols, T-Ara’s Ham Eunjungwho was also featured in “Dream High” received the highest score. Eunjung received a 6.3 in ‘acting career up to date’, placing 4th, but she placed 5th in ‘potential for growth’ with a score of 6.4. She was criticized, “her strong point is her everyday, next door type appearance, but she needs to gain experience” (Ahn Hyuk Mo).
T-Ara’s Jiyeon placed 7th in ‘acting career up to date’ but tied at 6th with CNBLUE’s Jung Yonghwain ‘potential for growth’. Kara’s Goo Hara who is currently acting in SBS’s “City Hunter” scored the lowest in both categories. Professionals coldly criticized that “she needs to escape the shade of being an idol” (Yoon Suk Jin) and that “she is better fit as a singer” (Ahn Hyuk Mo).
Afterschool’s UEE placed 10th in ‘acting career up to date’ and tied with Goo Hara KARA for 10th in ‘potential for growth’. She received criticisms that “she fits the current trend, but ultimately will fall behind” (Ko Young Tak) and that “she needs serious consideration in what else she could show other than her healthy appeal” (Huh Woong).
Kim Hyun Joong of SS501, who received big spotlights as one of the top upcoming Hallyu Stars through his roles in “Boys Before Flowers” and “Playful Kiss” tied for 5th in ‘acting career up to date’ with Super Junior’s Choi Siwon, but fell to 9th place in ‘potential for growth’. Kim Hyun Joong received harsh criticisms from the reviewers that “he needs more stable acting to receive lead roles” (Ko Young Tak) and “the fact he sells despite his downside was his strength, but even that is becoming blurry now” (Lee Moon Won).
Choi Siwon, who placed 5th in ‘acting career up to date’ and higher as 4th in ‘potential for growth’, received criticism that although his acting is somewhat stable, he is trapped in his roles within his handsome appearance.
There are mainly three routes in which idols enter their acting career.
First, the historical drama route: Fin.K.L’s Sung Yuri in “Thousand Years Love”, JYJ’s Park Yoochun in “Sungkyunkwan Scandal”, and Afterschool’s UEE as young Misil in “Queen Seon Duk”. Historical dramas carry a specific tone for lines, and the recent rise of fusion-historical dramas make it easy for rookie actors and actresses to pull lines off. Historical dramas, rather than trendy dramas, also give the impression that the idol actors/actresses are taking acting more seriously.
Second, the musician role route: Jung Yonghwa of CNBLUE and Lee Hong Ki of FT Island in “You’re Beautiful” along with Miss A Suzy in “Dream High” are typical cases. Idols can showcase their talent and act naturally. In MBC’s “Fall In Love” which will air its first episode on the 29th of June, Jung Yonghwa will play the lead role as a college student who is majoring guitar in music school.
Lastly, debuting outside of Korea using their international popularity. Kara’s Goo Hara debuted as an actress in “UraKara” in Japan and then recently kicked off her acting career in Korea in SBS’s “City Hunter”. Super Junior’s Donghae will debut in acting with a lead role in Taiwan through “Glamorous Challenge”, set to start sometime this year. MBC’s “Playful Kiss” in which Kim Hyun Joong was featured in had very low ratings in Korea, but it went on out to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many other countries to gross a total of approximately 4 million dollars.
Girlsss...check it out this trailer for Skip Beat/Extravagant challenge drama...oh oh Choi siwon he such a damn Sexyhot guy and Donghae a cute bad boy, they just really my type ^_^ hahahha....really looking forward this drama hope they will finished filming soon.
So please seat properly girls before your watch this trailer >_< .....
Hello minasan....Previously i did send a post regarding upcoming drama of Lee Min ho called "City Hunter", and now The bad boy already in town!!!!! ^_^.
Honestly I was anticipating “City Hunter” for a while as a big fan of the original manga/anime and also a fan of Lee Min Ho since my last watched his acting in "Personal taste".
First of all, a brief background on “City Hunter.” Imagine a perverted Han Solo as a gun for hire set in the 80s of Tokyo and you have “City Hunter’s” main character, Ryo Saeba, a mercenary with a heart of gold and a weak spot for beautiful women. What we knew before the first episode of the “City Hunter” drama is that, kind of like Batman Begins, it would be a story about how the main character becomes “Ryo Saeba.” After watching the first episode I was intrigued by the contrast, this new TV series was much darker and more sinister than the original manga/anime. Now let’s get on with the recap!
Because the names will get long and annoying, I’ll be using abbreviations for the characters.
Lee Yoon Sung (Played by Lee Min Ho): Yoon Sung
Kim Na Na (Played by Park Min Young): Nana
Lee Jin Pyo (Played by Kim Sang Joong): JP
Bae Shik Joong (Played by Kim Sang Ho): Bald dude
Park Mu Yeol (Played by Park Sang Min, The guy who is Lee Min Ho’s biological father): PMH
Episode 1
The first scene is of a pregnant woman giving birth (Probably to Lee Min Ho’s character Yoon Sung).Two agents (PMH and JP) are together and they seem to be waiting for the president. The cars that were arriving looked authentically 80’s and A bomb is in the building!!.The moment the car got close, BOOM! The bomb went off killing many. An explosive start if I should say so myself, you can never go wrong starting off with a bang.
As the two agents were driving back, JP asks PMH “Are you going to do it?” and PMH replies, “We just can’t stand by.” JP told PMH to lay off this mission, as he had a family to think about.The two finally arrive at the hospital and PMH sees his wife and son. JP gave the wife flowers basically saying good job. She said, “Thank you for coming back alive.” She was worried after hearing the news, and JP said, “You didn’t worry about me at all did you?” with PMH answering, “Why would my wife worry about you.” With a little bit of more banter, JP said he would leave while PMH said that he would join him. PMH told his wife that he would have to go somewhere, she was concerned asking if it would be dangerous. PMH said “Don’t worry, I will come back to you and our son.” (-_- A promise he obviously doesn’t keep).
During the mission PMH got stabbed but JP was right there to save him.Their rescue submarine arrived and the mission team began to swim towards it. But surprise surprise the moment the door opened, shots began to fire. They began to get shot one by one, with JP screaming “Why?! Why?! We’re on the same side!!!”.As the members are getting shot by South Koreans (People on their own side), PMH meets eyes with the shooter and shoves JP down into the water to get shot instead. PMH said the moment he was stabbed he knew he would die. PMH asks JP to take care of his wife and son. He says his last words, “I loved you my friend” and dies with a last sigh.
JP went to visit PMH’s wife and son, he was watching them.. Dogs were barking and as she looked, her son had disappeared. JP had abducted him. He left a note with the truth about everything that had happened. “PMH died, I will take the child, you will only be happy without him. Have a new start, please be happy. (Kind of strange that he just abducts the kid, but we knew this would happen through the different previews)
JP takes the child and leaves on a boat. As he looks at a picture of him, PMH and the wife together he thinks to himself. ‘I will call the child Lee Yoon Sung, and I will commit the world’s worst vengeance, because that will be the only reason for living. Up to this point, we witnessed the background of Yoon Sung’s birth. Jump ahead 10 years in a Southeast Asian country in the Golden triangle. JP had become a drug lord. (Probably to finance his vengeance plot) JP is shown to have changed and become merciless. He shoots a guy who sold drugs to Korea, because he broke JP’s rule.
We finally get to see young Yoon Sung, as he is practicing shooting a gun. JP is extremely stern and harsh on the kid.The next scene shows Yoon Sung playing with an elephant and riding on top of it.Finally the boy grows up to be the Lee Min Ho that everyone loves.
I always like seeing Kim Sang Joong act. (The guy who plays JP, the one who kidnapped Yoon Sung at a young age) He always gets that dark charismatic character spot on. This show is very intriguing because it has a vengeance plot. I guess there are going to be new targets and we will see how Yoon Sung approaches the target and takes them out. I was amazed at how the characters were developed in just one episode. Now we know how complex Yoon Sung’s character is going to be, inside he is still a young boy who wants his mommy, but he’s been raised up by a top agent with an axe to grind. Yoon Sung is also now faced with the truth about his past, how the Korean government betrayed his father and JP. That’s a lot to deal with.
I enjoyed the action scenes and liked all of the slow-motion effects, no qualms here, the quality is as good as “Iris” or even better. But, the episode was pretty slow throughout because it was setting up the background. That is understandable I guess, because the characters are pretty complex. Looks like this drama is turning out as a mix between “Bourne Identity” and “Old Boy,” I know everyone loves a good ol’ revenge plot. (Ah hah! Another similarity with "Iris", lol)
Episode 2
The episode started off with training scenes in the mud.Yoon Sung made the bullet that killed his father, into a necklace. (This is the one that killed his biological father and was lodged in JP’s shoulder a pretty good symbol for his determination).Next we got to see drug lord JP’s mansion with Yoon Sung looking on at the balcony. JP appeared with a cane and a fake leg to boot, but he seemed happy. (Wow this guy can actually smile).He said, “You’ve achieved it!” and brought Yoon Sung’s MIT acceptance letter. Yoon Sung would now live as a person from Texas with his name being John Lee. JP looked very proud.JP told Yoon Sung to remember three things: You need to live anew, don’t trust anybody, and don’t love anybody. If your identity is found out everyone around you will be drenched in blood (A repeat of the last lines for the first episode)
Yoon Sung is being introduced to the communications team, he got his PHD from MIT at the ripe age of 28. The girls adore him already and one guy doesn’t seem to like him much. His name is Ki Joon and he tries to pull rank on him and haze Yoon Sung because he had worked two years earlier. But of course, bad boy Yoon Sung won’t take any of that! Also, he’s backed up by the higher-up who loves his MIT status. (I hate saying this but, so Korean)
Nana on the other hand is stuck with Choi Da Yang a daughter of the president but she has a partner.
Yoon Sung is starting to work but he is disrupted by knocking. Nana wants his bank account number. Yoon Sung answers in hBoys Over Flowers fashion, “That money means nothing to me.” (He says it’s like chewing gum to him) Another funny line, “I think you’re trying to get with me through this, but you’re not my type, want me to buy you a mirror as well?”
Clips are shown about Target Number One. Yoon Sung asks why JP is only telling him about one target out of the "Group of Five". JP only knows that Target Number One is a bad dude for sure, because he had seen him. After Target Number One is down the other ones will surface. Then Yoon Sung asked why he was set up at the Blue House (Korean White House), and JP says he will tell him later. (Meh we know already that President CEC is a target, probably the last one at that).Yoon Sung says, “I want to destroy them in a way that nobody can forgive.” JP is intrigued and gives him the green light.
I can start to see the connections between Lee Min Ho’s portrayal of Yoon Sung and Ryo Saeba (From the original). Although Ryo Saeba is cynical, perverted, and girl crazy usually his weak side is shown and also his heart of gold. But, also when it comes down to critical moments he is ruthless. Lee Min Ho showed some of these sides that were toned down a lot. I guess towards the last episode we will see Yoon Sung become more and more like the Ryo Saeba portrayed in the manga/comics.
Also, an intriguing plot device for this drama is the fact that two children of the "Group of Five" appear as characters. One will be in a love triangle with Yoon Sung, and if his father is murdered how will he react? Also, what about Dahae (Goo Hara's character) how would she react after her father dies? Well that's assuming of course that all of them get offed.
During the first episode I think Lee Min Ho was pronouncing his Korean improperly on purpose. This episode his Korean was back to normal. Although I disliked the fact that his character is too similar to Goo Joon Pyo of “Boys Over Flowers,” it definitely gave me a few laughs the way he talks to women and pretty much everyone else.
Today it's just another day for me, but i stumble with the weird situation which immediately remind me about this drama i watched it several year before. "The world that they live in" or "World within" hahah and here i just take a time to make a preview about this drama. Actually this drama was re-aired in KBS World just recently.
"Worlds Within", it is a 16 episodes KBS2 aired in 2008. Hyun Bin and Song Hye Kyo, 2 of my favourite Korean actors! Song Hye-kyo work with PD Pyo Min-soo again, their last collaboration was “Full House”.In this drama, she played Joo Joon-young, who is direct and confident; she showed viewers the matured attractiveness/charm of a career woman. Also a comeback from Hyun bin after 2 years since his last appearance in drama "Snow Queen"
This drama showed about "What is life behind the scene?" and so on. It is about the process of a television drama production. Jung Ji-oh is a charismatic drama PD, while Joo Joon-young is a PD who is direct and confident. They had a past relationship way back in their college days, which lead to complicated break ups due to their separate affairs with other people. After finally breaking up with their previous affairs, they decided to get back together and start a relationship. Joon-young is a daughter from a rich family; she has problems regarding her mom (who lives a luxurious lifestyle, gambling and affairs with other men), which made her become too cold and reserve when it comes to expressing her feelings. These problems lead to her filming of cold and unexpressive dramas. Ji-oh on the other hand, is a son from a poor family of farmers and has a hard time dealing with his dad's temper and loves his mom dearly. When the two get back together, they both learned from each other and eventually, Joon Young became more expressive, warm and understanding (as opposed to her short-tempered and inconsiderate behavior before), but Joon Young's mother didn't much approve of Ji-oh, since he is only a lowly person and director. Ji-oh's pride was deeply wounded by the impression Joon Young's mom gave to him, so he decided to break up with Joon Young. Joon Young was deeply hurt and doesn't even know the reason of their break-up, Ji-oh is very mean into pushing her away, but deep inside he still loves her, he was just bothered by their differences in wealth, values and characterisitics. Many problem arises between the couple which tests their love for each other. Ji-oh even suffered an eye disease which lead to an operation and him, not being able to film everyday. But at the end, both Ji-Oh and Joon-Young got back together as a couple and also directed a show.
Competition in the station arises, when Song Gyu ho, an ill-mannered sadistic director took over some dramas and left workers overworked. However, his attitude isn't a problem at the station since he always make high ratings in his dramas. He casted a stalker-ish new actress, Seo Hyo rim, who eventually fell in love with him. The two fell for each other, however, they had to be separated since Gyu ho's father is running as a President in the future elections, so as to protect his name, the two was forced to break-up. Hyo rim then became a good actress and soon had many dating issues with her co-stars, while Gyu ho was just watching from afar, sad and wounded. In the end, the two got back together and decided to tie the knot.
The drama basically shows the real life when it comes into making a drama, the actors' experiences and situations, as well as the directors and staffs hardships in order to create their dramas, with a twist of budding romance from each of the cast.
In some way this drama is just like other Kdrama, only you we're showed how the production and crew make their living to bring you (an audience) a good drama. But it's really sad since this drama didn't get a good rating. For me this drama too cliche and do not had any originality of stories also its beyond reality in the life of Production house crew/staff
By the way for Hyun Bin fan don't worry he still the best and can bring his character well. He really look like a bad temper PD in this drama >_<. So here is the link for those wish to get a preview for this series...World Within - Drama
