Congrats NHK World!!!

Yay! NHK WORLD was named ConnectedWorld.TV Broadcaster of the Year for its online coverage of the March 11 tsunami and its aftermath.

The judges observed, "The NHK and BBC often lead their colleagues in both innovation and service quality and while there is little to separate these two great public broadcasters there is no question that NHK's worldwide distribution of earthquake information that was consistently of quality and humanity gives it the edge for this year's award."

ConnectedWorld.TV Awards is the first global awards to focus on creativity and innovation at the intersection of TV and the internet.

That's it! Have a great day!

tags: Broadcaster of the Year, ConnectedWorld.TV, NHK World, TV

Game of Thrones (TV)

We have been watching the first season of Game of Thrones and we heart - heart - heart it!

Game of Thrones is an HBO medieval fantasy series based on George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels.

About it: "Summer span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men... all will play the 'Game of Thrones'."

Our top three favorite characters in the Game of Thrones series so far are:

1. Tyrion Lannister a.k.a The Imp. He's just so in character and you can't take him for granted.

Tyrion Lannister: "Let me give you some advice, bastard:Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."

2. Daenerys Targaryen a.k.a Khaleesi . She is super pretty plus she's a dragon princess (and we're a sucker for dragons ).

Daenerys Targaryen: "I have never been nothing. I am the blood of the dragon."

3. Arya Stark a.k.a Boy (hehe!) She is probably the only smart Stark and she knows what she wants.

Arya Stark: "My father is Hand of the King. I am not a boy, I am Arya Stark of Winterfell. And if you lay a hand on me my father will have both of your heads on spikes. Now, are you going to let me by, or do I have to smack you on the ear to help you with your hearing?"

>>>Although Game of Thrones is an amazing fantasy series, it's definitely not for kids. It is overflowing with sex and violence. We've heard that the book is the same. I guess we have some reading to do.

That's it for now. Have a great day!

tags:Arya Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones, Khaleesi, movie, movies, TV, Tyrion Lannister

NHK WORLD - Broadcaster's Eye

There's a program on NHK WORLD TV called BROADCASTER's EYE that shows award-winning documentaries and drama. And they are really amazing! The stories are so beautiful and heartwarming. We're really crossing fingers that they air the first three episodes again so that people who missed them can watch.

Anyway, there's another one entitled "Mieruhi - Coming Home" which will be aired on June 19 this Sunday at these hours: 0:45/ 4:45/ 8:45/ 12:45/ 17:10/ 21:40 (UTC). For your timezone schedule, please click here.

I think this episode is a drama and we're so excited to see it because the dramas are usually on NHK Premium, which is in Japanese. Anyway, it will be about a father and son. The father was having trouble with their family business and so he and his wife had frequent fights which eventually led to a divorce. Their only son then started hating his father and left home. The father didn't hear a word from his son for ten years. And just when the father was ready to move on considering to remarry, the son came back.

So yeah... if you happen to be not doing anything on Sunday and just watching tv and channel surfing and you happen to like Japanese dramas, please check out NHK World. Again, their tv schedule is here. Don't forget to click your time zone and the date June 19.

Have a great day!

A Surprise Gift from NHK World

Yay! We received a package from Japan today. It's a 2011 Calendar from NHK World. We were so surprised! I know it's just a calendar but it's from our favorite tv network so it means a lot. It's a sure keepsake!

By the way, just in case you haven't heard of NHK WORLD, it's the international broadcasting service of NHK or Nippon Hoso Kyokai. Its programs are mostly about Japan. To know more, please drop by their website.

It's Channel 68 on Global Destiny cable tv (Philippines) - not sure if it's the same on other cable providers -- probably not. They have a lot of great programs. Our personal favorites are Begin Japanology, At Home with Venetia in Kyoto, Tokyo Eye, Journeys in Japan, Tomohiro's Railway tour of China, Today's Close-up, Japan Unlocked, Professionals, and NHK Special. They have a lot of nice shows. Sometimes they have a special program or a special series that will only be aired on a certain week. Everything is worth watching especially if you love Japan like we do.

Please check the channel some time. Their TV schedule is here.

Arigatou Gozaimasu! =)

Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil

"Fail? I don't do fail." "

"Oh biscuits!"

We love love love this cartoon! It's about Kick, a young boy who aspires to be the greatest dare devil in the world. So he's always doing dangerous stunts. Unfortunately, his brother Brad /slash/ THE villain is always in his way.

This cartoon spells awesome and rock and roll all together. It's on Disney Channel Asia - Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. :-)

Atashinchi No Danshi (live-action)

Atashinchi No Danshi or My Boys is a Japanese Comedy about a homeless girl named Chisato who spent years of her life hiding and running away from debt collectors. One day, she meets a rich man who offers to pay off her debts if she married him. She takes the offer after finding out that he only has a month to live. A month later, she finds out that he had more conditions than just being his wife. She also has to live in a castle named Trick Heart, be a mother to his six sons and complete different tasks with all of them. The thing is the sons despised each other and they definitely didn't like the idea of having Chisato as their mother.

We've seen this a few months ago- just forgot to blog about it. Notice the photo clip above. It kinda has the same motto as Gurenn Lagann, don't you think?

Anyway, it's a super happy series period. We loved all eleven episodes and we are definitely gonna have a Trick Heart Castle of our own. Yay to dreams!!!

And oh, Chisato is played by Maki Horikita, same actress who played Ashiya in Hana Kimi. She's sugoku kawaii!!!

So hope you find time to watch it. Just take it lightly... it's all heart. Have a fun, fun day!

Thanks to Pol for sharing this. :-)

Hana-Kimi (Japanese Live-Action)

I totally enjoyed watching this live-action series. I thought it was INTENSELY funny. It's so filled with foolishness I want to try myself! The characters are soooo cute as if they came out of the manga. Shun Oguri is really one cute Izumi Sano. He's also the guy who played Shinichi Kudo in "Detective Conan" (live action). WARNING: This series is truly for the girly-girl hearted! One reason why I'm okay with Naldo NOT watching it with me. (wink!)

Anyway, there's a lot of posts about this already so there's really no need to talk much about it. However I'd like to share a few quotes I loved from it. There's supposed to be more but I kept on forgetting to "print screen" them. (Toinks! )

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I wanted to watch it again just to get the quotes but still have two other series in waiting. Maybe in the future because I DO love to watch this again. And next time I'll get the funny ones, okay?

A BIG thanks to Pol who has always supplied us wonderful series.

If you need to know more about Hana-Kimi, the best site is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hana-Kimi

note: We do not own the images above. This is a fan-post. Thank you very much! :-)

City Island

City Island is a Raymond De Felitta film about a prison guard (played by Mr. Andy Garcia), his family, their individual secrets and a prisoner brought to their home to witness it all.

The story is touching but not cheesy. The plot is reasonably real and witty. The characters are all interesting. It's a great family movie. We encourage you to watch it. May you learn from City Island and may it make you laugh as much as we did. (wink!)

FYI: Mr. Felitta's other works are "Two Family House", "Cafe Society", and "The Thing About My Folks". :-)

Shokojo Seira (Japanese version of A Little Princess)

A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There have been different film and television adaptations of it and we're pretty sure all of you have seen at least one of them.

We've seen them all (oops except the 1917 film, ayt- so not all then!) and we think the 2009 Japanese remake "Shokojo Seira" is the best we've seen so far. It's a 10 episode drama series.

This remake is not faithful to the novel but this is like the 6th television version. They had to spice it up a little bit. We think the modifications made sense and we loved how the screenwriter established them.

Anyway, for more info about the film and tv adaptations please go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess

There are different "fansubs" and here's one of them:
http://timelessub.org/all-projects/shokojo-seira