Starring:
Yamada Takayuki as Takeshima Naoki
Sawajiri Erika as Shirai Yumiko
Tamayama Tetsuji as Takeshima Takashi
Fukiishi Kazue as Nakajo Asami
Onoue Hiroyuki as Terao Yusuke
Fukikoshi Mitsuru as Ogata Tadao

Every month, Naoki receives a letter from his brother, Takashi. Though they used to be very close, Takashi is now in prison for life. While Takashi was never a star pupil, Naoki is, and Takashi is determined to send his little brother to college. He works very hard, but unfortunately he hurts his back and was fired from his job. Unable to find work, he robs a house out of desperation, and when he is running he bumps into the elderly woman who lives there; the two struggle, and she dies. Because of this, he is send to prison and Naoki is branded “a murderer’s brother.” The story focuses mostly on Naoki and discrimination against him because of his brother, though he has done nothing wrong. Other characters include Yumiko, a girl who has always watched from the side and becomes his good friend; Yusuke, his friend since junior high; and Asami, who becomes his girlfriend.

Tegami is a good example of a movie that could only be Asian. I could never imagine Hollywood releasing a film like this because even if your relative is a criminal, you wouldn’t be blamed, much less blatantly discriminated for it. I think this stems from the fact that Western society is very individualistic and what you doesn’t have much to do with your relatives. But for Asians, what you do reflects on the rest of your family. Even the circumstances of Takashi’s “murder” are questionable. And since he hurt is back while working, we Americans would demand payment for that, but I suppose it just doesn’t work that way for the Japanese.

Because of this, Naoki is forced to find new jobs and to move often, even though he was the top student and could have easily gone to good university. Instead, he works jobs for meager wages, just trying to get by. At first, he feels wronged and discriminated against. Eventually, he comes to accept this as his fate of a murderer’s brother. Though he receives letters from his brother every month, he has stopped writing back.

You know, no matter how much Naoki may have loved his brother before the “murder,” what’s happening to him now is enough to make him hate his brother. It’s regretful that it comes to hating his brother when the real culprit is society. It’s partly because Asians are so gossipy and prone to spreading rumors (just looks at all the scandals in Asian media!). Many times, rumors and gossip hold more weight than the truth. For Hollywood stars, not even being charged with illegal drug abuse and the like is enough to destroy a career…

Not only does Tegami have an interesting and compelling storyline, the three co-stars are all accomplished actors and actresses. Tamayama Tetsuji impresses me in everything I see him in, no matter how small the role. He always makes an impact. Also, he has a wonderful narrating voice, since he isn’t the film physically as much as he is vocally, narrating his letters. Yamada Takayuki as Naoki was also a treat. He was one the first actors that I ever got into; I’ve watched bunches of his dramas (Sekachu, H2, Water Boys, Byakuyakou, etc) and it’s nice to watch him again. He pulls off this role well, starting from feeling discriminated against to just quietly accepting it without question. Even if Sawajiri Erika is a bitch (or seems to be one), I still like her acting. She starts out looking a little more homely and then later turns into a much modern student. I watched this movie with my sister and she said, “what? Is that the same person?” Besides that, she plays the role of a strong woman nicely, with plenty of determination and spunk.

Tegami is a very interesting film that is definitely worth a watch. With a great cast and an equally great storyline, what’s not to like? It’s not a light movie, though, so don’t expect much romance.

Buy this movie: HK DVD | J Premium Edition

Tracklist
1. Destination Nowhere
2. ESCAPE
3. FREE (overrocket101007 mix)
4. Destination Nowhere -Instrumental-

Destination Nowhere is ERIKA’s second single and was released November 28, 2007. Though her debut single and single under the pen name Kaoru Amane were chart-toppers, Destination Nowhere failed to chart or sell nearly as well, debut at #4 on the dailies, but falling to #7 on the weekly charts. The first week sales were just over 26,000 copies. The title track was used as the theme to the Fall dorama, Mop Girl. This single also had an interesting change in image; although I’m not sure what the change is supposed to reflect. I’m sure the hair, wardrobe, and make-up works well for a high fashion shoot, but her appeal as a singer should be modeled differently. Plus the image doesn’t accurately reflect the single at all.

Destination Nowhere is actually fairly similar to FREE. It’s a guitar-driven pop-rock track with pretty decent vocals. The chorus is really good with a fuller arrangement and more emotion vocals. The verses aren’t too special, though, because the arrangement is a bit more minimal and ERIKA’s vocals aren’t spectacular enough to carry it on its own. This song is rather good but lacks that x-factor to turn it into a song you want to put on repeat.

ESCAPE starts out with an interesting jazzy/electronic feel to it. Very reminiscent of FANTASY, ESCAPE relies on the driving beat and rhythms with ERIKA’s distorted voice. Generally, I don’t care too much for her vocals in this single because I finally realized what it was…she sounds like she’s on the edge on being bored! It really comes across and it’s just harder to enjoy. I do particularly like the music, especially the piano part with the synth.

The remix of FREE is interesting, to say the least. It turns the pop-rock track into a pseudo-club dance mix. The remix’s not bad; it’s just not as good as the original arrangement. But I suppose if you like dance and electronica, this remix is will be a good one.

Buy this single: CD only | CD+DVD

Tracklist
1. FREE
2. FANTASY
3. Time to go home
4. FREE -Instrumental-

After first debuting under the pen name Amane Kaoru from the dorama which she starred in, idol Sawajiri Erika re-debuted under a new pen name, ERIKA. Surprisingly, her debut single, Taiyou no Uta, was the highest selling female single of 2006. That truly amazed me since Erika’s voice didn’t match up to the great composition of the two songs. However, she has a rather large fanbase from her acting and modeling career, which exudes selling potential. I was really surprised to hear that she would be re-debuting as a singer, since her voice didn’t impress me at all on her first single. ERIKA also co-wrote the lyrics to the first two tracks. FREE was released on July 4, 2007 and grabbed the #1 spot immediately, selling over 50,000 copies within the first week. But - the question is, is Erika just a actress/modeling riding on that fanbase to sell copies or does her musical career actually deserve it?

FREE is a mid-tempo pop-rock song. It has a darker and more somber feeling than Taiyou no Uta. I loved the arrangement in this song - ERIKA’s composers are quite talented. I was surprised at how much I liked this song the first time I listened to it. ERIKA’s vocals are better than her first single, but they are still not as strong as the musical composition. I really like the chorus; after I first listened to it, I had it in my head for a little bit.

FANTASY could easily have become a great dance track if there was a heavier bass to it. It’s very different from FREE - it utilized electronica and doesn’t even touch the rock genre. It has a bit of an ethereal feel to it midway through when her voice is distorted a bit more and spoken phrases. This is a really interesting experimental piece.

Time to go home is another rock song, except this time without a pop edge. I like the chorus here especially, though at the end there are some Engrish lyrics, like “Wherever you are, I do find you,” that don’t seem to exactly fit into the rest of the song. It’s most obvious in this song that ERIKA’s voice isn’t as powerful as it should be, because the instrumentation feels too loud compared to the vocals.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this single. I’ll be the first to say that ERIKA’s vocals are rather weak, but her voice does sound nice and the arrangements are just great. She’s got potential, but definitely needs more vocals training.

Buy this single: CD only