yeeqianxis

Hi! I'm yee. I've been an avid watcher of J-dramas and movies since the better part of 2013.

I remember watching three random Japanese films on cable television in the same year - it was Another (the live action), Jinx!!, and The Kirishima Thing. The latter two got me initially interested in Japanese films. What got me into consuming more of Japanese cinema was Okada Masaki through Confessions, Hana Kimi, and Honokaa Boy. I remember idolizing Japanese author Minato Kanae's works, particularly Confessions, and so I gave the movie adaptation a try (it was awesome!). Okada was also such a standout in Hana Kimi when I was watching it out of boredom during summer break.

I fell deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, mainly due to the influence of two films: 1) Himizu and 2) All About Lily Chou-Chou. From there, I discovered my two favorite actors Nikaido Fumi and Sometani Shota as well as one of my favorite directors Iwai Shunji.

My love for ARASHI at the time also led me to watching teacher-themed dramas, such as Gokusen and GTO. The latter was my introduction to Kubozuka Yosuke, another favorite actor of mine. I found him amazing in Ping Pong, GO, and Long Love Letter. My deep dive into the Johnny's universe also hooked me into obsessing over Last Vacation, one of my all-time favorite J-dramas.

I can't quite pinpoint how I got obsessed with Tsumabuki Satoshi thereafter, but I had a phase where I would consume his filmography after class and over the weekend! Through perusing his works, I discovered multiple actors whose works piqued my interest: Eita, Ueno Juri, Matsuda Shohei, Yakusho Koji, and Takasugi Mahiro among a few.

My watching took a pause in 2018-2020, but It's a Summer Film, which I saw in 2021, moved me to tears that I immediately got back to consuming dramas and movies. Ito Marika, Kawai Yuumi, and Kaneko Daichi were such standouts; the movie shot to my top list of Japanese movies! Ohku Akiko's Hold Me Back left me bawling that I had to recover for a month just thinking about it.

In 2022, I roped a close friend into watching more J-dramas and we really loved Unnatural and My Love Mix-Up!

Now in 2024, I recently got into tokusatsu with Avataro Sentai Donbrothers as my first sentai show and Kamen Rider as my first foray into the rider series. I've also been steadily watching Japanese BL dramas and J-dramas with themes revolving around food, feminism, community and found family, friendship, introspection, and coming of age.

The actors that I've been eagerly tuning into are: Kawai Yuumi, Kan Hideyoshi, Itagaki Rihito, and Komagine Kiita.

Hopefully I'd still be raving about my love for Japanese television and cinema ten years from now!