Japanese dramas are not as popular here now as compared to a few years back (Korean dramas are more popular these days), but I still watch them from time to time, when interesting shows are aired. Of the shows that I’ve watched, quite a few of the more memorable ones were actually adapted from manga.

Oricon Japan polled a total of 500 people aged 16 to 29, and asked them which drama series adapted from manga would they recommend. The results are as follows:

1. Nodame Cantabile のだめカンタービレ
2. ROOKIES ルーキーズ
3. Liar Game ライアーゲーム
4. Gokusen ごくせん
5. Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 花ざかりの君たちへ ～イケメン♂パラダイス～
6. JIN-仁-
7. Meichan no Shitsuji メイちゃんの執事
8. Tokumei Kakarichou: Tadano Hitoshi 特命係長 只野仁
9. Honey and Clover ハチミツとクローバー
10. Bloody Monday ブラッディ・マンデイ

Agnès b. 2010 spring/summer collection e-mook

The Agnès b. 2010 spring/summer collection e-mook was released last Friday (19 Feb), and my copy arrived in the mail today. Mooks (magazine books), as far as I know, a pretty much a Japanese thing, and the term refers to publication in the format of a magazine but sold as a book. Many well-known brands have published mooks, including Marc by Marc Jacobs, YSL, Paul & Joe, Jill Stuart, Agnès b., and the list goes on. Fashion mooks usually feature a catalogue of the brand’s upcoming collection, as well as other contents that probably differ in each one. The Agnès b. one, for example, features the brand’s history and development.

Valentine’s Day might just be over, but if there’s any show that this holiday reminds me of, it has to be Tokyo Marble Chocolate. The anime comes in 2 half-hour OAVs, which tell the story of Chizuru and Yuudai, who had both experienced failed relationships, spending their first Christmas together. The first part, Zenryoku Shounen, is about Yuudai’s story, while the second part, Mata Aimashou, shows the events from Chizuru’s point of view. While the running time is not long, the story is developed nicely, and the characters are not difficult to identify with. It’s not often that you see a show that tells the story from both the protagonists’ point of view, so if you have some time, do give it a try (links are under the cut).

Amongst the recent offerings by HDB, I think this one looks the best!

A view from the inside

Of course, these pictures are just artistic impressions, but it’s the amount of space in the units that I like! The standard units have more or less similar floor areas to the flats built in recent years, but the loft unit is much bigger!

It would be nice to be able to live in a house like this someday…

Windows 7

I’ve upgraded to Windows 7 yesterday, and it’s looking good so far. Vista had a nice user interface, but it wasn’t without it’s own problems. The most annoying thing introduced (at least to me) was the User Account Control. There were some software and hardware compatibility issues as well, some of which were only partially fixed as the other companies released newer versions of their software, drivers and such. The driver for my old printer never worked properly with Vista, even with the “fix”, and even though I could still do the basic printing, some of the more advanced printing functions could not be used. The problem was only solved when we got a new printer at home recently.

Windows 7 feels better so far. I noticed an improvement speed-wise, which certainly is a good thing. The new taskbar takes a while to get used to, even for a Vista user, but I’m growing to like it. The “show the desktop” icon sure took me a long time to find though. (It’s no longer like how it was in XP and Vista, but instead a rectangle portion at the very right of the taskbar.) In terms of software and hardware compatibility, I haven’t faced much of a problem with what I’ve installed so far, unlike when I had first upgraded to Vista.

When I talk about Microsoft, it’s never without complaints though. I was trying to find out how to install the Chinese IME, since the one I chose didn’t seem to be the right one. (There’s apparently a newer version of the IME, which is named differently, and I didn’t realise that.) I tried searching on the Microsoft site, and it’s seriously user-unfriendly! And I had to open the site using IE, since some of the links and search functions don’t work in Firefox. They should really redesign their site so that people can find what they want easily.

Anyway, from what I’ve read, the general consensus seems to be that Windows 7 is what Vista should have been, and I fully agree with that. A lot of people never took to Vista, but it remains to see whether the launch of Windows 7 will make more XP users change their mind about upgrading.