More bits and bobs as I catch up:
DRAMAS
- While I'd rather read Dramabeans' intro to The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House than watch the whole series (it's 50 episodes), it looks fun. Plus, as Sarah noted, it's one of those rare dramas that focuses on marrying off men. Ah, schadenfreude.
MANGA
- Shojo Beat magazine will cease publication after the July 2009 issue. While I love the Shojo Beat imprint line, I never bought the magazine. I prefer to buy volumes, and many of my favorite series (Skip Beat, High School Debut) weren't serialized.
"younger women readers report reading manga books far more than manga magazines but by the time they reach their forties, there’s not much difference between reported readership of manga books and magazines."
Here are Thorn's original articles (link 1, link 2); the articles are full of lovely graphs & commentary, so please click over. I've always wondered why Shojo Beat underperformed next to Shonen Jump, and that might explain it. ::via Kuriousity, confirmed by Manga Blog & others.
MUSIC
- I'm not crazy about 2NE1's debut single "Fire." Both the song and the official video are overworked & hyper. That said, I love that 2NE1 isn't playing the cutesy/sexy angle like every other Korean girl group. The individual members seem talented and I particularly like group leader CL (so sassy).
FUNNY/WEIRD
- Now that I have seen Bakune Young, I cannot unsee it. Thanks for that, Kurutta.
- I third David Welsh's fascination with Grandpa Danger.
- Finally, here's another Japanese TV clip, where a man gets ready for work (dresses, makes coffee & breakfast, etc.) in less than five minutes.
