Youka Nitta

Another Mochimune-like director

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:30:42 GMT

In an earlier post, I compared Mochimune to Kurosawa. Today I came across a reference to another famous Japanese director who reminded me a bit of Mochi. I was reading a book called Asian Cinema by Tom Vick. There was, of course, a chapter on Japanese films, and the author spent some time discussing the works of Yasujiro Ozu, who directed such films as I Was Born, But... and Tokyo Story. Vick wrote: "Ozu's directing style allowed for very little freedom for his actors. He dictated every gesture, movement, and line reading, sometimes putting actors through such grueling rehearsals that they were reduced to tears. And yet he repeatedly worked with a handful of dedicated thespian collaborators who understood the value of this harsh treatment." (p.43)

Obviously it's not an exact comparison, since Mochimune isn't as much of a dictator as Ozu apparently was. When we see him directing Iwaki, he doesn't give precise instructions such as "emphasize this line" or "gesture with your hand this way." Instead Mochimune gives Iwaki more general directions such as "I told you to appear menacing" and "to grow wild, to become dirty, evil." So Mochimune does give his actors freedom to interpret the character--but on the other hand, he'll give them hell if he doesn't like their interpretation. The part about grueling rehearsals that reduce the actors to tears definitely reminded me of Mochimune, and Iwaki's frustration about not being able to capture the role the way that Mochimune wants. Of course, Iwaki doesn't actually break down into tears on the set (although he does later in bed with Katou), but I can well imagine that Mochimune has probably driven many younger, less experienced actors to the point of tears. We know that Mochimune is talented, but he must be quite successful as well, to get away with that kind of behavior and his air of arrogance.

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FIC: Yoshizumi's Night Out, Parts 1-3

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:29:33 GMT

Title: Yoshizumi's Night Out, Parts 1-3
Author: geri_chan
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita, When a Man Loves a Man
Pairing: Kenzaki/Yoshizumi
Characters: Yoshizumi, Asano, Kenzaki, Kikuchi, Onozuka
Word count: ~6,855 for Part 1; 5,240 for Part 2; ~4,190 for Part 3
Warnings: spoilers for the When a Man Loves a Man series
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Sanctuary, The Prince vs. the Groupie (Part 1, Part 2), and Family Visit: Tokyo (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5), and Gigolo (Part 1, Part 2). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Yoshizumi grows restless during a night of drinking with the cast, and decides to seek out some companionship at the host club Rusty Nail.

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FIC: Birthday Surprise (NC-17)

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:08:27 GMT

Title: Birthday Surprise
Authors: geri_chan and snapelike
Pairing: Iwaki/Katou
Rating: Mild NC-17
Word count: 2,700
Warnings: Public and slightly rough sex
Notes: For the lovely and supportive minhha on their birthday. Congratulations, minhha
Summary: Katou is disappointed. It seems as if all his friends have forgotten his birthday...

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Fic: How to Tame a Lover in Three Easy Steps

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:12:02 GMT

Title: How to Tame a Lover in Three Easy Steps
Pairings: Mochimune/Miyasaka; Kikuchi/Onozuka; Miyasaka/Onozuka
Universe: Haru o Daiteita
Word count: 7,250
Warnings: Fisting (implied), exhibitionism, voyeurism, changing partners, a bit of coercion and dominance.
Rating: NC-17
Notes: I had promised to write a few anniversary drabbles for various people... you know... tiny, little stories around 100 words. Last time I did that, it ended with 40K of Carlo/Magira. This time I've limited myself. So this er- drabble is for sexyscholar who wanted "...something around Onozuka/Miyasaka. I don't have a specific plot, but fisting would be lovely, along with an occasional use of the word "slut." I don't have a preference as to who dominates -- let your imagination take you where it will.".
This can be seen as a sequel to Autumn Fire and Masks, Removed. Beta by red_day_dawning.
Also, I had to find a given name for Director Mochimune for this, and it did take me a while, since I plan to write quite a bit more about the man. Mochimune is an old noble name, and as I'd like to stay with the bushi naming, I poked around and found Hideharu (秀治) which can mean "brightness unfolding" or "beauty's reign" - a fitting name for an arrogant, first class film maker. So in the future my Mochimune will be Mochimune Hideharu, except if Nitta-sensei decides something else in the last, final chapter of Haru o Daiteita (which I doubt).
Summary: A drunken challenge and two hurt lovers. Revenge and victory turned on its head. Onozuka has effective ideas when it comes to letting his lover know that he is not satisfied by being treated as a toy to save Kikuchi's pride. Director Mochimune is taught a similar lesson, and Miyasaka learns a bit about feelings himself.

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Is Mochimune the next Kurosawa?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:59:46 GMT

Recently, a friend and I were talking about the latest Studio Ghibli film, which led to a discussion about anime and Japanese films in general. And then my friend, who is something of a film buff, started talking about Akira Kurosawa and claimed that Kurosawa hated actors, and that Toshiro Mifune was the only one that he really respected.

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Question about When a Man Loves a Man

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:38:07 GMT

I'm working on a Yoshizumi/Kenzaki fic as part of my "Comeback" series, and I had a question about the end of the WMLM series...

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FIC: Gigolo, Parts 1 and 2

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:10:28 GMT

Here's the latest fic, a crossover with the Hana-Kimi manga (a shoujo title by Hisaya Nakajo):

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FIC: Family Visit: Tokyo, Parts 3-5

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:11:25 GMT

Sorry this took a little longer to finish than I'd planned, but hopefully the extra chapter is worth it! ^_^

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Questions about Sawa and families

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:43:00 GMT

In my Kikuchi/Onozuka series, I made Kikuchi's father a retired detective. Recently, in this comment (*swats away Sawa and crossover bunnies. I swear...*) on one of my fics, bronze_ribbons reminded me that Sawa used to be a detective--giving me more plot bunnies to add to the gazillion already clamoring for attention! >_<

So anyway, I decided to go back to the Sawa flashback story "Mother's Rouge" in Book 4, to see if I could figure out where Sawa had been stationed, and whether he and Kikuchi-Papa could have crossed paths in their work. (I haven't really explained it fully in the series yet, but Kikuchi senior was a detective in Division One of the Metropolitan Police Department--more commonly translated in English as the Tokyo Police Department, since it serves the entire Tokyo metropolis. Going by my experience of watching numerous detective J-dramas, Division One seems to be the elite Homicide division, although they sometimes investigate other high-profile crimes like kidnappings. Division Two handles financial crimes, narcotics, weapons trafficking, and assaults, and in TV-land, there is sometimes a friendly or not-so-friendly rivalry between the two Divisions. There are also local precincts in the various wards of Tokyo, staffed by their own detectives.)

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FIC: Family Visit: Tokyo, Parts 1 & 2

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:07:12 GMT

This is still a WIP, but as it's turning into something of an epic, I thought I'd go ahead and post the first two chapters. I estimate that it will take another two chapters to wrap up, and I'll try to have it finished by next weekend.

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Honorifics, Iwaki&Katou's relationship and Mochimune...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:20:58 GMT

A bit about honorifics in Haru vol. 10&11... In 11, ch. 1 there is a lot of Onozuka-Miyasaka-Iwaki-Katou action, and the use of honorifics says quite a lot about their relationships at this point.
First of all, this made me rethink the relationship between Iwaki and Katou. We have assumed that it is Iwaki who holds back, mainly based on the fact that Katou and he have had a discussion about given names, and when to use them. But if we look at how Iwaki and Katou address each other and how they speak about each other to other people, it is clear that Iwaki's relationship with Katou is more... intimate than we think - he is not holding back. No, it is actually Katou who might be the one who (inadvertently, perhaps) who have set the up barrier which prevents that the family names are put away. It is Katou, after all, who tells Iwaki that he'll reward him by calling him Kyousuke at the Golden anniversary whereas Iwaki wants call Katou Yousuke already at their Silver ann. :D

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There really is a Lime bar in Ginza!

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:09:34 GMT

I'm working on my current fic, where Miyasaka decides to go off to a nightclub alone after Katou and Onozuka abandon him in favor of their lovers. They had previously been at Lime, which the manga says is located in Ginza, so I was just doing a quick web search on "Ginza" to get ideas, and I found this entry for Lime:

Lime is a popular "aquarium" lounge bar. If you come as a couple and are lucky enough, you might be seated in front of the aquarium, which is 20m long and houses 2,000 tropical fish. If you come with friends, you'll probably be seated in the Southeast Asian-themed area of the bar. In either case, you'd better book ahead.

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FIC: The Prince vs. the Groupie

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:31:54 GMT

Title: The Prince vs. the Groupie, Parts 1 & 2
Rating: NC-17 overall
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano, Takashi, Ayumi
Word count: ~4,840 for Part 1, ~6,080 for Part 2
Warnings: Spoilers for "Groupie"
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Sanctuary. The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: A crossover with the "Groupie" manga. The famous groupie Takashi sets his sights on Kikuchi, much to Onozuka's displeasure. Takes place immediately after Sanctuary.

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Otodama to be published in English

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:16:07 GMT

According to airisu7425 at LJ's Youka Nitta comm, Digital Manga will be publishing Otodama in English in February 2010, under the DokiDoki imprint.
This is airisu7425's source: http://www.801media.com/blog/?p=326

Last chapter of Haru o Daiteita to be published!

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:44:34 GMT

Over at YN@LJ, a poster links to Nitta-sensei's post here.

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FIC: Sanctuary

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:39:34 GMT

Title: Sanctuary
Rating: PG
Fandom: Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love)
Pairing: Kikuchi/Onozuka
Characters: Kikuchi, Onozuka, Yoshizumi, Asano
Word count: ~5,160
Disclaimer: No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Unexpected Opportunities, Comeback (Part 1 and Part 2), Forgiveness, Firsts, First Date (Part 1 and Part 2), Going Steady (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), Audition (Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3), Cookout (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Press Conference (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). The series also includes two side-stories that are outside of the main timeline: Valentine's Day Surprise and Strictly Business.
Summary: Kikuchi tells the younger men a story about how he took sanctuary in a church ten years ago.

Follow the link to my journal...

More thoughts on Boku no Koe

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:02:35 GMT

After first reading Boku, I made this post in which I said that I found Jouchi really irritating. Now that I'm getting ready for the RPG, I went back to read the manga more closely, and I think I have to revise my opinion slightly.

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San, Chan, Sensei, Kun and all the other friends...

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:23:36 GMT

In the middle of creating character profiles for boku_no_koe, I became immensely annoyed with the translation of vol. 1. Compared to the Japanese version, there is quite a lot of swapping, or worse, removal of the suffixes. The scanlation is simply not trustworthy. I've seen -san swapped for -sensei, -san and -chan removed so no suffix is present. It is irritating because the suffixes work very well to determine relationships and moods, and the depth of those. So I had to cross-check all the info...

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Iwaki: friends and hobbies?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:45:23 GMT

I was working on Katou's and Iwaki's profiles for the Boku no Koe RPG, and I realized that Katou's profile was very easy to create--in fact, I had to pare it down a little, because it was getting too long. But I was filling out Iwaki's profile and I realized that there are some things that I just don't know about Iwaki.

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very very quick springkink rec

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:34:22 GMT

Having It His Way by sagemuraken --- 868 words of Iwaki/Katou shirt bondage + English lessons. Squee!

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Thoughts on Groupie and White Brand

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:45:10 GMT

I read Groupie once and didn't care that much for it, so I set it aside and didn't plan to go back to it again. But then I got a plot bunny about Takashi (the "groupie" that the manga is named after) hitting on Kikuchi and making Onozuka jealous, so I went back and took a closer look at it.

Part of the dislike is just personal preference--I don't really care for threesomes; I'm more the type who likes stories about someone finding their soulmate/one true love. (Which explains why I like those "mating bond" type stories in Snupin, I suppose.) Although as always, a really good writer can overcome my dislikes and make me believe that these three people are meant to be together.

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RPG: Boku no Koe!

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:11:40 GMT

Boku no Koe RP!

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Off-topic weekend!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:04:24 GMT

Hello everyone! While we're waiting for our beloved snapelike to finish her last exam, we're going to be off-topic! Take the weekend to post or talk about anything you like involving Boy Love manga or anime. Reintroduce yourself to the community and let us know what you've been up to lately!

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Boku no Koe is open for business...

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:17:01 GMT

Although not entirely done, boku_no_koe is open. Which means you can apply for a character and/or contribute to where the plot goes, before any further pimping is done in other comms. Please feel free to point out any inconsistencies or errors in the mod posts.

Ficlet: Safe House (Carlo/Magira, Snape/Lupin; PG)

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:35:39 GMT

More fandom anniversary celebration fic:

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