HeRo-TaKuYa KiMuRa

Year: 2007
Director: Masayuki Suzuki
WRiter: Yasushi Fukuda

Cast:
Takuya Kimura, Takako Matsu, Hiroshi Abe, Haruka Ayase, Takuzo Kadono, Teruyuki Kagawa, Masanobu Katsumura, Ittoku Kishibe, Kiyoshi Kodama, Fumiyo Kohinata, Ryoko Kuninaka, Lee Byung-Hun, Bokuzo Masana, Koshiro Matsumoto, Kiichi Nakai, Nene Otsuka, Gregory Pekar, Tamori, Norito Yashima
The Skinny:
As corny as modern movies get, and also as agreeable. The Capraesque values are actually quite winning, and Takuya Kimura and company carry the film with affable humor. More for fans than casual viewers, but even the uninitiated may enjoy Hero.
Review by Kozo:
Didn't see the TV drama? That's okay, because even though you may not get everything that goes on in Takuya Kimura's small-to-big-screen drama Hero, there's still some enjoyment to be had. A sequel to the blockbuster 2001 Japanese TV drama and 2006 TV special, Hero is a slam dunk for rabid fans, though the uninitiated may not respond to all the quirky characters or oblique references to past events. However, the film's do-gooder protagonist and charming Capraesque values go a long way towards creating universal appeal. Hero marks the return of public prosecutor Kuryu Kohei (Kimura), a righteous, determined young D.A. who breaks all the rules for all the right reasons. Assigned to prosecute an open-and-shut manslaughter case, Kuryu goes into full-on righteous Hero mode when the defendant changes his plea from guilty to innocent, causing a minor uproar in Kuryu's offices.
The defendant, a dyed-blond security guard, originally pleaded guilty in a sheepish manner, but he's now ready to go to court with the backing of a pricey defense lawyer named Gamo (Koshiro Matsumoto). It seems the defendant is being used as an alibi in a bribery case; a powerful, corrupt politician (Kazuyoshi Morita) has been accused of taking a payoff, and the defendant supposedly saw him in another place at another time. Of course, that's totally untrue. All the players are guilty as sin, but big people with big money don't want their corruption exposed, so they'll get the high-priced Gamo to defend a lowly nobody, the idea being that an unjust victory will keep their pockets full and the evil corruption machine greased.
However, they didn't count on Kuryu, whose righteousness and determination know no equal, though at first glance you probably wouldn't expect that from him. Even though he's a public servant, Kuryu dresses in sloppy jeans and sweatshirts, has an over-coiffed mane of dyed orange-brown hair, is sometimes inattentive and spacey, and never wears ties in the courtroom. When it comes to work, however, he's all business - only more so than your standard lawyer types are used to. Other prosecutors would give up and call it a day after a cursory look at the evidence. But not Kuryu Kohei, who won't give up when trying to do the right thing, pursuing leads to the ends of the Earth (or, in this case, Korea), searching haystacks for needles, and generally going the extra step, kilometer and/or light year required to find that most elusive of things: the truth. Will he find the truth behind the crime and uncover the true culprit before they get off scot-free?
Whoops, that sounds like a mystery, which Hero most definitely is not. There's no question here about who's bad or good, and the trail towards the truth is more about extreme legwork and connecting the dots than it is about deduction or true investigation. Hero is a "hard work pays off" movie where the issue is not how to solve the crime, but merely how to do things the right way. To wit, everyone knows who did what and the prosecutors just need evidence, even if it means combing the city inch by inch and sweating every last detail or lead, no matter how minor or infinitesimal the chance is that they'll find something. The lengths that Kuryu and his colleagues go to strains any realism because a normal person would definitely give up if they had to check every mobile phone in a neighborhood just on the off chance that someone took some incriminating photos. Hero supposes that these people will hike one hundred extra miles to secure the truth, and does it in such an earnest fashion that the audience can either applaud at the wholesome decency on display or gag at the saccharine silliness of it all. As an audience member with some personal taste, this is where you make your choice. Time to get on or off the bandwagon.
Well, we're going to get on the bandwagon, because the righteous, good guy world of Hero is pretty damn charming. It's the very thing that made the TV series so likable, and indeed, audiences in Japan have apparently lapped up Hero to the tune of mucho box office. The appeal of the world is not hard to understand, as Takuya Kimura is one charismatic dude, and he makes Kuryu Kohei an immediately likable figure. As detailed in the TV series, Kuryu was previously a juvenile delinquent before becoming the most gee-whiz D.A. in Japan, and his earnest rebel-with-a-cause ways make him a refreshing screen hero. When challenged by Gamo's wily tactics, Kuryu responds by actually being grateful for the challenge, and pledges to handle things fair, square, and without any undue grandstanding. Kuryu is not after the splashy headlines or the juicy cases, but desires simply to honor whoever it is he's supposed to be serving, like a grieving widow or just some disenfranchised individual. It's like he's...a movie character!
Which he obviously is - but he's a very winning one. Capraesque characters and working class heroes are always easy to root for, so director Masayuki Suzuki can get away with blatantly unrealistic situations and cheesy platitudes that would normally annoy cynical audiences. That's a good thing, because there's plenty here for the cynical to chew on, including too many characters who try to do the right thing, a defense lawyer who's so awed by his earnest prosecutor rival that he'll even screw his own client, and big rousing speeches that sound like they were pulled out of a can labeled "Inspirational Screenwriting 101". Hero slops on the cheese, but does it in agreeable, low-key style. The filmmakers don't use a hammer to force their issues; it's like they're getting down on one knee to offer their cheese on a polished, presentable platter that's not egregious or tacky. It's obvious but functional, and so is this movie.
Otherwise, this is just enlarged small-screen fare, from the lack of urgency to the TV-style opening credits, confined sets, minor drama, and abundant attention to quirky characters and their silly ways. Uninitiated audiences may not be able to identify all the players, as they're presented in a way that will obviously tickle only fans, and most are given short shrift compared to Takuya Kimura and Takako Matsu (as the long-suffering love interest). The only real movie-like concession seems to be a trip to Korea to find a missing car, which means the filmmakers got on a plane with Kimura and Matsu and filmed them wandering all over Pusan. They also hired Korean superstar Lee Byung-Hun (A Bittersweet Life) to show up and act like Lee Byung-Hun. Lee plays Kuryu's Korean counterpart, and does nothing more than appear for two minutes and offer obvious platitudes that are canned and programmed for instant audience approval. Does it work? Not really, but it's hard to really nail the film for being commercial claptrap. This is crowd-pleasing cinema for the masses that would get laughed out of any serious film competition, but at least it's not offensive or pretentious, and again, that Takuya Kimura is one charismatic dude. This Hero is still more small screen than big screen, but that's not a bad thing at all. Besides, you'll probably see it on DVD. Then it'll still be on the small screen.

malice details..

Gackt

Date of Birth- July 4, 1540

Place of Birth- Okinawa

Height- 178 cm

Weight- 59 kg

Blood Type- A

Instument- Vocals andpiano

Gackt first started learning the piano at three. He says that his parents were very stricked. Evenutally, Gackt learned to love the piano and started playing it voluntarily. He had been into classical music but changed into band. After going crazy when he was young, he said he became a psychic. His family left Okinawa and moved to Kyoto. After the move, Gackt almost drowned. He said he felt "Kanashibari" (suddenly becoming inexpliccably paralyzed while lying down) a lot, and ghosts would move his body. In one of these incidents, he lost all trust with his parents because he said he had some woman's spirit in his body and they didn't beleive him.
Gackt wanted to be an orchestra conductor. He first wanted to play a brass instrument but everything changed when he started singing in a band. When he wasn't allowed to play the brass instrument, he turned to percussion. He was determined to play the best and when he saw his friends playing the piano better than him, he had to better then them too. He said he felt and attraction toward each of the members of the band (he mentioned Kami and Kozi's names). He says that he doesn't feel like a replacement for the previous vocalist (Tetsu) but that he doesn't have to do everything Tetsu did. On one incident in France, Gackt says, "During the video shooting, I found an old piano in the castle, and I was playing it. Then a girl, who lives in the castle, and her friend came close to me and were listening to my piano-playing. After playing piano, they showed a really happy facial expression, and since I can't speak in French and they just speak very awkward English, we couldn't speak much to each other but we surely could communicate. I felt it was a very precious experience." With Gackt as a lead singer, Malice Mizer went very far.
Secrets about Gackt? He claims to be a 465 year old vampire born in Norway and says says his body can be controled by ghosts. He loves to view the nightscapes. He says he remembers asking Kami were the best place to view them was but Kami took him to a beach instead. Tokyo really didn't have many places to view nightscapes. Gackt later took Kozi to see some and Kozi was really amazed. Gackt loves to play his piano, read books, drink alcohol, or listen to music.

Klaha
Real Name- Masaki Haruna

Date of Birth- May 3rd

Place of Birth- Tokyo

Height- 175 cm

Blood Type- A

Instument- Vocals

Klaha started out his career by being in a band called "Pride of Mind" which was a new wave/dark wave influenced by that started in 1993. The sounds of the disturbing band broke up in 1996. Four years later, Klaha joined Malice Mizer, replacing Gackt. He worked with Malice Mizer on their 4th album "Bara no Seidou." Malice Mizer disbanded a little over a year later. They released 3 more singles and a movie entitled "Bara no Knrei ~Mayonaka ni Kawashita Yakusoku~ (Bridal of Rose). Klaha went solo after that and released a CD on December 4, 2002.

Mana
Date of Birth- March 19
Place of Birth- Hiroshima
Height- 173 cm
Blood Type- O
Instument- Guitar and Synthesizer

Mana was never a big fan of Japanese Pop Music (J-pop) but liked the sound of a distorted guitar and was attracted to heavy metal because of the look. But because the look changed so quickly, he got bored of it. When Mana was in Junior High, Mana asked for a guitar and his parents bought him a folk guitar; Mana never used it and instead bought and electric one. Mana did not think about becoming a professional musician when joining a friends band. All Mana knew is that becoming a business man was out of the question. While experimenting with many styles of music, Mana enjoyed creating new ones.

Mana only remembers meeting Kozi and making a band together. Mana created the name Malice Mizer (translated into English as 'Malice Misery'). After they met Yu~ki things started to take off from there, playing at small houses and getting their name known.

Secrets about Mana? Well, for one, don't you love how cute he is? And yes, I said HE. Mana is infact a man (a MANLY MAN!) but does not like guys clothing. He loves womens fashions and to this day owns a shop. And no, Mana is not gay. He is very particular in picking out his women. Because there are no women in Malice Mizer, Mana steps in as sort of a 'replacement' woman.


Kozi
Date of Birth- May 29
Place of Birth- Niigata
Height- 175 cm
Weight- 56 kg
Blood Type- A
Instument- Guitar

Kozi was never a good leader in school and the only reason he continued doing anything is because he liked music. Early off in junior high, Kozi wanted to play in a band. He first started playing the bass with his friend then moved to Tokyo and started the guitar. He dropped out of school at 16. With no money he had to work jobs that involved a lot of physical labor. He joined some band as a guitar player while in Tokyo. Eventually he met Mana and was surprised at how many horror video's Mana had. Mana then asked him to be the supporting memeber in a band.

In the band, Kozi is the second guitarist (Mana is first) and is the one who usually looks like a doll. He also is one of the back up vocalists. He's very shy to people but always enjoys spending time with his band members. He believes everyone should be optimistic.

Secretes about Kozi? Who knows? Kozi is a man and I didn't try to trick you this time like I did with Mana. Ths is all part of that visual kei thing I explained on my home page. If you didn't read that then maybe you should. About Kozi, he doesn't like Classical Music; he was forced to play pianno at a young age, he never finished school, and he was always so showy he could take lead roles but wasn't much of a leader.

Yu-Ki
Date of Birth- August 8

Place of Birth- Fukuoka

Height- 175 cm

Weight- 54 kg

Blood Type- A

Instument- Bass

As a young kid, Yu~ki admitted he liked a lot of popular music and videos. His idol was Bruce Lee, "I often mimicked Bruce Lee," he says, "and I often climbed up to the roofs of the neighborhood. I guess I was very active at that time." He was so involved in it that he actually made up a set of nun-chucks (just to name a few) by himself from scratch! (It's well-known that the coffin which was used in the early MALICE MIZER stage was made by Yu~ki.)
On entering high school, Yu~ki started playing the bass. He was very loud and had the police called on him and his band several times. After high school, he went to Tokyo with his band's drummer. There he kept playing in a band and on the night of his last preformance, he was approtched by Mana. Mana asked him to play bass in his and Kozi's band. Yu~ki agreed, saying that his first impression of them was 'really weird.' When Tetsu left the band, because it took so long to find a new vocalist, the band asked him to sing. With Gackt though, a new image came about which some fans said it was weird to see Yu~ki in a silk hat.
Secretes about Yu~ki? There's a reason he sometimes looks like a French guy. Maybe it's because he like French Music. Yu~ki is very straight forward and serious. He likes to explore new things too, except gambling. Yu~ki does not like to gamble. Nor does he like alcohol or tobacco.

Kami
Date of Birth- February 1, 1973
Date of Death- June 21, 1999

Place of Birth- Ibaragi

Height- 177 cm

Weight- 57 kg

Blood Type- A

Instument- drums

Kami started playing the drums in fifth grade and was very competitve to get the drum part seeing as only three people were selected to play it. He practiced for hours and hours just to get the drum part. After that, Kami did not touch a drum for a very long time. When he enterd high school, he started saving up for his own drum set. "At first I wanted to play a guitar," Kami says, "but I couldn't. Then I recalled that I'd played percussion once." He said that it was only a simple set, but he loved in none the less.
Kami would play his drums for hours and hours on end, only stopping for school and tennis. At 17, Kami was determined to be a drummer. After graduating high school, he moved to Tokyo and joined a punk band. He was not fond of the music genre. He wanted to play a percussion part that which could develop more and requires more technique. Eventaully, he found a visual kei band named Kneuklid Romance. After that, Yu~ki came up to him and asked him to join Malice Mizer and Kami declined. Shortly after that, Mana call him up and Kami agreed to join as a temporary memeber. He offically joined them a half a year later.
Secrets about Kami? He's a MAJOR war freak. "I was not interested in the history itself . . . Then I happened to watch the TV program on National broadcasting channel which dealt with a captain of old Japanese army, and I was so impressed by it that I kept watching it every week," Kami said. His favorite captain is Shingen Takeda and his second is Masamune Date. His life style was effected by the stories he read about those two. When he started becoming interested in them, Malice Mizer was trying to take over the Indies so he could kind of relate to Takeda's taking over Japan. He's crazy about 'seppuku' (performing hara-kiri[suiside of "death before dishonor"]) and fortresses. He also owned over 80 bottles of perfume but only wore 4, "I just liked the bottles," said Kami. And just to clear this up, Kami's hair really WAS long enough to the point where he could sit on it and it was ALL natural. And there are no fans underneath his drumset; his 'hair defing gravity' is actually something he can do. On stage, Kami usually seeks "sanctuary" from Gackt from behind his drumset but he says he like to 'flirt' with Gackt and harrass/annoy Yu~ki too.
On June 25, 1999, Kami was found dead in his house. His death day was actually four days previous, and he died of subarachnoid hemmorhage, killing him quickly and painlessly. There was a small funeral in which Mana, Kozi, Yu~ki, his parents and a few friends attended. Kami's really good friend/band member, Gackt, did not hear the news until later; he was on a solo tour. Kami was only 26 years old and one of the best drummers in the history of music.

Tetsu
Date of Birth- December 12, 1972

Place of Birth- Tokyo

Height- unknown

Weight- unknown

Blood Type- B

Instument- Vocals

I don't know a lot about Tetsu except that he was the original singer for Malice Mizer and left on December 27, 1994. No one really knows if he quit or if Mana gave him the boot. Tetsu is really kind of creepy and his voice makes you wonder if your dead. Yeah, Tetsu's defintally different

Malice mizer profiles

PROFILE
Malice Mizer are one of the most versatile and successful exponents of the visual kei genre. The band is as famous for its one-of-a-kind music as for its elaborate costumes and stage shows, which incorporate dance routines, pantomime plays, pyrotechnics and other special effects. The name Malice Mizer is based on the French words for malice and misery which, according to founders Mana and Közi, are the answer to the question 'what is human?' In keeping with this rather pessimistic concept, their lyrics tend to centre on profound, melancholy themes such as loss and death.

Malice Mizer's career can be divided into three separate eras, which are characterized by three distinctly different vocalists. Their music, however, defies categorisaton, as it blends a variety of different styles that change from era to era, and sometimes even within one and the same album.

Since 2001 the band has been on hiatus while its members explore other projects.

BIOGRAPHY
Malice Mizer was founded in 1992 by Mana (guitar, synthesizer) and Közi (guitar, synthesizer), with Tetsu on vocals, Yu~ki on bass and Gaz on drums. During this time, their sound was a blend of early eighties gothic rock and classical music, especially baroque music. From the outset, the band also established its trademark 'twin guitar' sound whereby two guitars play different melodies that, together, become the actual guitar part of a song.

In 1993, Malice Mizer published their first song, Speed of Desperate, on the compilation Brain Trash. Shortly after, Gaz left the band and was replaced by Kami (ex Kneuklid Romance).

In the following year, the band released their first album, Memoire, on Mana's newly founded label Midi:Nette, which quickly sold out and was re-released a couple of months later with an additional track under the name Memoire DX. Only a few days later vocalist Tetsu left the band because he did not agree with the concept of incorporating dance routines and pantomime plays into their stage shows. However, the break seems to have been amicable because Tetsu, who has since been active in several other bands, continues to be on friendly terms with the other members of Malice Mizer.

Forced to pause for a year while looking for a new vocalist, they finally found him in Gackt (ex Cains:Feel). Under his influence Malice Mizer's image changed drastically. Black lace and rosaries were swapped for colourful historical costumes and their music became more romantic in its mood, incorporating even stronger classical influences, as well as techno and French pop music.

In 1996, they released their second album, Voyage ~sans retour~, followed by a sold out nationwide tour, and in 1997 they signed a record deal with the major label Nippon Columbia. Here they released a string of singles, their wildly successful third album Merveilles, which debuted at #2 on the Oricon charts, and the short film Verte Aile / Bel Air ~de l'image~, which was shot in France. This was followed by more sold out tours (the tickets for their Merveilles concert at the Nippon Budokan sold out within two minutes!) and regular TV appearances, and they even had their own radio show.

In January 1999, however, Gackt left the band to begin a solo career, taking a substantial part of their fan base with him. The circumstances of this departure are the subject of speculation even today. Gackt made several contradictory statements, in which he cited differences with management and the other band members, amongst others. Malice Mizer, on the other hand, claimed that he left suddenly and without explanation, and their management threatened to sue him for breach of contract.

While fans and the media were still debating, Malice Mizer suffered an even harder blow: drummer Kami died suddenly from a subarachnoid hemorrhage, at the young age of 25. He left behind a handful of songs, which the band eventually released as part of the box set Shinwa, which was dedicated to his memory. Kami was never replaced. From that point on, Malice Mizer only used support drummers and Kami was credited as 'eternal blood relative' on all their releases that came after.

In late 1999 Malice Mizer, now back on Mana's indies label Midi:Nette and still without a vocalist, began to work on new releases. They abandoned the romantic pop sound of the Gackt era for a dramatic mix of classical music, gothic rock and metal, which saw them return to their musical roots, and adopted an elaborate funereal goth look.

In the summer of 2000, Malice Mizer released their fourth album, Bara no Seidou, introducing their third and final vocalist, Klaha (ex Pride of Mind). This was followed by their most spectacular live show to date, a two day concert at the Nippon Budokan featuring pyrotechnics, a choir of veiled nuns and a life size gothic cathedral as stage prop.

In 2001, the band starred in the feature length vampire film Bara no Konrei, released three singles and began to work on a new album, but Malice Mizer had reached a cross roads. Up until then, the band members had always worked within the framework of Malice Mizer's concept of 'what is human?', but they were beginning to feel restricted. In December 2001, after almost ten years together, they therefore decided to go their separate ways.

Klaha began a solo career. Mana started his own solo project, Moi dix Mois, and simultaneously pursues a career as fashion designer for his gothic lolita label, Moi-même-Moitié. Közi joined the goth band Eve of Destiny and also has a solo career. The whereabouts of Yu~ki were unknown until he resurfaced in 2004 as co-writer of one of Közi's solo songs, but he has since disappeared again.

Since 2004, Mana has signed several record deals with European labels, which went on to also publish some of Malice Mizer's releases internationally.

Malice Mizer-Au Revoir

Itsu mou futari bun no hibiku ashioto ga tsuzuiteta michi de
Kare hatete shimatta gairoju tachi ga o ikunatta hohaba o kizukaseta

Kata ni surechigau chiisa na ochiba ga mata sora ni modotte
Sonna fukisusabu kaze sae mo ima wa naze ka itoshikute
Sotto hohoende ita

madobe ni motareru minareta sugata ga
Kageru hizashi ni utsushi dasarete kieru
Afureru omoi ni tsubuyaita kotoba wa
"Semete yume ga sameru made..."

Motto
Anata o dakishime nemuritai
Yasashii kioku ni kawatta ima de sae mo
Kono ude de dakishime nemuritai
Deatta koro no futari no you ni

Madobe ni motarete zawameku namiki ni
Sotto tsubuyaku onaji kotoba o mou ichi dou...
Ano toki no sugata ga mienaku natte mo
Semete yume no naka dake wa

Motto
Anata o dakishime nemuritai
Yasashii kioku ni kawatta ima de sae mo
Kono ude de dakishime nemuritai
Deatta koro no ano hi no mama no
Futari no you ni

Anata o dakishime nemuritai ...
Kono ude de dakishime nemuritai ...
Anata o dakishime nemuritai ...
Kono ude de dakishime nemuritai ...

HI THERE :)

Hi! welcome to my blog. I'm a new dude on this blog...segala tunjuk ajar sangatlah dihargai :)