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earth_colorsHere's Part 3 (final) of the Trivia Notes for Amachan...
The Final Week. Director Inoue Tsuyoshi shares his thoughts and experiences in the NHK website about the last stages of filming. Translated by danburi:
"At the KitaTetsu trial run scene (Ep 152), with the (sign), 'Anbe-chan, please marry me! Daikichi' which Aki wrote on the train, there were many people who waved their hands and/or shouted out. At the KitaTetsu re-opening ceremony (Last Episode), many people gathered for us.
At that same scene, the local Kuji High School Brass Band also made an appearance. I told Otomo (Yoshihide)-san, who is in charge of the music, 'I’m swamped with getting ready for filming so please take care of the brass band!', and put him in charge to play 'Shiosai no Memory' fanfare style. For the scene when the the decorative paper ball broke and the train starts moving, did you hear the opening theme in brass band style? That was during the wait time, the brass band started playing all of sudden in front of the cast and locals. We decided to use that like a soundtrack.
Lucky Misanga. The moms of Sanriku have indeed been making misangas which they call "Hama no Misanga Tamaki" or "Beach Misanga wristbands". These moms include those in the coastal areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. This project started after the earthquake in 2011, employing women who lost their jobs, and reusing "fishing nets for sardine fishing, and those nets that were kept in a warehouse in the area." According to japanstyle, the misanga cost 1,100 yen per set, "576 yen out of 1,100 yen goes to the moms (...) who made the product. This not only creates business in the area, but also provides about 150 yen to those people and companies who/which support those affected people in the area, per set." Of course, the misanga featured in the drama was modeled after this, and since then, stocks have been consistently sold out.
(info: japanstyle, ja.wiki) (homepage and pic: sanriku-shigoto-project)
Amanomics. Acc. to ja.wiki (translation by danburi): "According to trial calculations and estimates provided by Iwate economics research center which is a think tank of Iwate banking group, economic effect to Iwate Prefecture by this drama was about 33.5 million US dollars and created 465 employments. This surpasses economic effect from Tohoku Six Soul festival held in Morioka City on prior year which was about 22.6 million."
(info: ja.wiki) (translation: danburi)
Good Guy Sakana-kun. TV celebrity, ichthyologist, and "Fish Ambassador", Sakana-kun (real name: Miyazawa Masayuki) visited Kuji City a few days after the earthquake. Sakana-kun regularly held events in Kuji City's "Moguranpia" aquarium museum which had around 3,000 fishes in its collection. However, most of the fishes were wiped out as the underground museum was destroyed in the 3.11 disaster. Sakana-kun encouraged the locals to put up another museum, this time in a safer place in Kuji City, by donating fishes, including rare angel shark and box fish, from his own collection and his illustrations. The new museum, called "Machinaka Aquarium" opened in August, 2011 (pic above).
(info and pic: asahi)
"Flightless birds." If you were wondering what the line uttered by Haruko in Ep. 150 means ("Another flightless bird ran away to Kitasanriku"), here's an interpretation by danburi-san: "This is just my guess, flightless bird she is talking about is someone who can’t accept who or how they are. Like Aki who was an idol but that's not what she thinks she should be doing so she came to Kitasanriku. Mizuguchi who was a talent manager but couldn't accept what he was doing so he quit and came to Kitasanriku. Now, Suzuka who can't sing but can't accept how she is also is in Kitasanriku."
Senpai's Tamagoyaki. Some viewers think that the cake-like tamagoyaki Taneichi makes is almost impossible, impractical or tedious to make. Danburi says, "Even real sushi shops won't make it that way and will take much longer than what they've showed. In most case, even sushi shops will use rolled kind or buy commercially made ones." Nevertheless, if you want to try it out, here's a recipe.
(info: yahoo)
Amachan internet lingo. Viewers surmise that the drama raked in medium high TV ratings due to the notion that maybe many elderly viewers could not appreciate its pop cultural references and story angles, and tuned out. However, it was such a huge phenomenon among younger viewers and created quite a buzz especially among Japanese users of the social media and the internet, that new words related to the asadora were coined. Words include: Amanomics (Ama-chan's economic impact, a take on Abenomics), and Ama-Loss and PASD (Post-Ama-chan Stress Disorder), both said to be feelings of loss felt by fans after the drama is over.
In Twitter, hashtags were created by fans to signify what kind of viewer they are: "AsaAma" (Morning-Ama or those who watch in the morning, 8 am), "HiruAma" (Noon Ama, 11:45 am), "YoruAma" (Evening Ama, 12:45 am), "RokuAma" (Recorded Ama), "2Ama, 3Ama" (seeing an episode twice, thrice, etc.), and "AmaChua" (tuned in the middle of an episode).
Matsuda Ryuhei's tsundere character, Mizuguchi Takuma was a big hit among female viewers. Hashtags of "Mizutaku" became trending topics, including "Mizutaku ore no heya matsuri", wherein fans post pix and fanart of Mizutaku. Also there was "MizuHug" (from Ep. 126); "Mizufukuzo" (Literally "Water shortage", if he is not present in an episode); and "Mizubitashi" ("Abundant Water" if he has many scenes in an episode).
(info: huffingtonpost.ja)
Amaboom. The show's boom was picked up by other shows, even in other networks, coming up with their own parodies. Fans including showbiz people, artists (pix below), and writers also wrote and tweeted about the drama, including Asozan Daifunka, Matsuura Hisaki, and (sorry, if my bias is showing lol) "Moteki" and "Mahoro" screenwriter/director One Hitoshi. He tweeted on September 18 about Ep. 146 (Gif scene above when Yui finally admitted she still wants to be an Idol): "I saw a recorded episode from today. All the actors including Yui-chan and their groove in the last 5 minutes was amazing~. I got goose bumps, almost cried. Editing was great too. This may be the best episode so far."
And after each episode... This drama's impact is so unique and crazy that people would even be talking about the programs that follow each episode! For example, after watching Ep. 98, One Hitoshi tweeted, "...I like watching the reactions of Udo-san and Inocchi in the mornings, but I also enjoy seeing the facial expressions of Announcer Takase (Kozo) at noon which differ slightly with the contents of Amachan ending. Today’s ending was "GMT’s debut song will be made!" "Jejeje!" and he was smiling a little (Pic above)."
Viewers would be looking forward to Asa-ichi (NHK morning magazine news show that comes after Ama-chan's 8 am slot) wherein V6 member turned NHK TV host, Inohara Yoshihiko or "Inocci" would make his comments about each episode with his co-host, Udo Yumiko. One notable comment he made was when he pointed out some similarities of the second verse lyrics of "Shiosai no Memories" (Are you leaving me, without saying goodbye?) with the opening lyrics of "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun" ("Goodbye" is not a word to signify a parting).
With Takase Kozo (NHK noon newscaster, comes in after the asadora's 11:45 am slot), people would regularly be posting screenshots of episodes in drama forums along with Takase's "reaction of the day."
(info: twitter, livedoor)
Amachan Fanart. Both well-known artists/mangakas and not-so-well known but talented fans of the show posted their works in the internet, during the show's run, including mangas, sushi art, and even latte art. Here are some sample of fanart from various artists, illustrators, and mangakas:
Hope you enjoyed watching Amachan~!
EDIT: Added more Amachan Trivia Notes! Link below...
Trivia Notes:
Batch 1: (Part 1) (Part 2)
Batch 2: (Part1) (Part 2) (Part 3)
Amachan Episode Index: (link)
The Final Week. Director Inoue Tsuyoshi shares his thoughts and experiences in the NHK website about the last stages of filming. Translated by danburi:
"At the KitaTetsu trial run scene (Ep 152), with the (sign), 'Anbe-chan, please marry me! Daikichi' which Aki wrote on the train, there were many people who waved their hands and/or shouted out. At the KitaTetsu re-opening ceremony (Last Episode), many people gathered for us.
At that same scene, the local Kuji High School Brass Band also made an appearance. I told Otomo (Yoshihide)-san, who is in charge of the music, 'I’m swamped with getting ready for filming so please take care of the brass band!', and put him in charge to play 'Shiosai no Memory' fanfare style. For the scene when the the decorative paper ball broke and the train starts moving, did you hear the opening theme in brass band style? That was during the wait time, the brass band started playing all of sudden in front of the cast and locals. We decided to use that like a soundtrack.
When we were shooting the parlor train scene, many locals were cheering along the tracks. And these parlor train scenes, unlike the last time (Week 9), we planned to film the outside scenes. There are some damage from the disaster which can still be seen but we thought we must film them and show it. Normally, you'll find stage direction and dialogue on the script. But for that scene, I've found some lyrics of 'Shiosai no Memory' for several pages. I thought it is the last message from Kudo-san (the script writer)...
The line "Come, jumping over the “fire (hi)” is, I think, “Come jump over the date (hi) (3.11)” and “Come to Tohoku again".
(Translator's Notes: A play on words. "Fire" and "day" both "hi" in Japanese, pronounced as the English pronoun "he", so this line, “Jump over the fire” he might be interpreting it as “Overcome that day 3.11.” ~danburi)
I said "I think", because, normally important things like this would be communicated. We are writer and director, after all. Although we worked together since 2 years ago, I never asked him directly. Kudo-san doesn't say anything either. But for this filming site, it was important to have something like "leave it to the imagination" for each person at the site.
So, for me, I wanted to film outside of the parlor train scene. And I wanted to have the lyrics overlap the scene.
After we finish filming the train scene and came back, locals greeted us staff with surprise banners like "I have nothing but gratitude!" or "Thank you! Amachan". I’m really glad we were able to film Amachan in this place."
(info and pix: nhk) (translation: danburi)
Director Inoue Tsuyoshi filming the last episode scenes
with Nounen Rena and Hashimoto Ai
On Rena-chan. Director Inoue also speaks about the drama's lead actress, Nounen Rena (translation by danburi):
"For past year, I maintained some distance from her. I didn't want to get too close to her and kept a bit of distance. I think she understood that, too. And the mysterious charm I felt when I met her for the first time at the audition never changed until the end. I think that’s an amazing thing.
KudoKan's thoughts. Writer Kudo Kankuro says that the first asadora he watched was the 1976 "Kumo no Juutan" when he was 6 years old. "I would watch it all and be late for school but I had to watch it by all means." Kudokan talks about why he chose Kuji, Iwate, "I did have an impression of a beautiful ocean. Local train is running, there are amber, in my eye, they are rich in stories but for the locals, it's normal, taken for granted. I really liked that. Because there were many materials like that (in Kuji), that was the decisive factor for choosing this place."
As a native of Miyagi Prefecture, Kudo reveals, "I’m not (like) Haruko-san, but I also came out to Tokyo once. I started to feel (towards my hometown) somehow nostalgic, I guess my feeling towards hometown doesn't stay the same forever. Not just 'countryside is nice', sometimes it gets suffocating or the depth of human relations specific to countryside can be annoying. I guess I don’t dislike those things as much as I did before."
(info: mainichi) (translation: danburi)
(info and pix: nhk) (translation: danburi)
Director Inoue Tsuyoshi filming the last episode scenes
with Nounen Rena and Hashimoto Ai
On Rena-chan. Director Inoue also speaks about the drama's lead actress, Nounen Rena (translation by danburi):
"For past year, I maintained some distance from her. I didn't want to get too close to her and kept a bit of distance. I think she understood that, too. And the mysterious charm I felt when I met her for the first time at the audition never changed until the end. I think that’s an amazing thing.
There were a lot of scenes that I felt she may be able to do something and were actually saved by her. For example, there were some scenes that did not feel the emotional connection in between but when she got in there, she'd overcome it. And she'd jump to different dimension but still looks so natural. I don't think there are many actors or actresses that can do that.
She will always betray our predictions in a good way. She is very much like Amano Aki.
When she is not acting, she will erase her existence, or should I say disappear (laughs). She is in front of me but often I had to look for her saying, "Where is Aki?"
So to be honest, I know nothing about Nounen-san, at all."
(info and pix: nhk) (translation: danburi)KudoKan's thoughts. Writer Kudo Kankuro says that the first asadora he watched was the 1976 "Kumo no Juutan" when he was 6 years old. "I would watch it all and be late for school but I had to watch it by all means." Kudokan talks about why he chose Kuji, Iwate, "I did have an impression of a beautiful ocean. Local train is running, there are amber, in my eye, they are rich in stories but for the locals, it's normal, taken for granted. I really liked that. Because there were many materials like that (in Kuji), that was the decisive factor for choosing this place."
As a native of Miyagi Prefecture, Kudo reveals, "I’m not (like) Haruko-san, but I also came out to Tokyo once. I started to feel (towards my hometown) somehow nostalgic, I guess my feeling towards hometown doesn't stay the same forever. Not just 'countryside is nice', sometimes it gets suffocating or the depth of human relations specific to countryside can be annoying. I guess I don’t dislike those things as much as I did before."
(info: mainichi) (translation: danburi)
Lucky Misanga. The moms of Sanriku have indeed been making misangas which they call "Hama no Misanga Tamaki" or "Beach Misanga wristbands". These moms include those in the coastal areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. This project started after the earthquake in 2011, employing women who lost their jobs, and reusing "fishing nets for sardine fishing, and those nets that were kept in a warehouse in the area." According to japanstyle, the misanga cost 1,100 yen per set, "576 yen out of 1,100 yen goes to the moms (...) who made the product. This not only creates business in the area, but also provides about 150 yen to those people and companies who/which support those affected people in the area, per set." Of course, the misanga featured in the drama was modeled after this, and since then, stocks have been consistently sold out.
(info: japanstyle, ja.wiki) (homepage and pic: sanriku-shigoto-project)
Amanomics. Acc. to ja.wiki (translation by danburi): "According to trial calculations and estimates provided by Iwate economics research center which is a think tank of Iwate banking group, economic effect to Iwate Prefecture by this drama was about 33.5 million US dollars and created 465 employments. This surpasses economic effect from Tohoku Six Soul festival held in Morioka City on prior year which was about 22.6 million."
(info: ja.wiki) (translation: danburi)
Good Guy Sakana-kun. TV celebrity, ichthyologist, and "Fish Ambassador", Sakana-kun (real name: Miyazawa Masayuki) visited Kuji City a few days after the earthquake. Sakana-kun regularly held events in Kuji City's "Moguranpia" aquarium museum which had around 3,000 fishes in its collection. However, most of the fishes were wiped out as the underground museum was destroyed in the 3.11 disaster. Sakana-kun encouraged the locals to put up another museum, this time in a safer place in Kuji City, by donating fishes, including rare angel shark and box fish, from his own collection and his illustrations. The new museum, called "Machinaka Aquarium" opened in August, 2011 (pic above).
(info and pic: asahi)
"Flightless birds." If you were wondering what the line uttered by Haruko in Ep. 150 means ("Another flightless bird ran away to Kitasanriku"), here's an interpretation by danburi-san: "This is just my guess, flightless bird she is talking about is someone who can’t accept who or how they are. Like Aki who was an idol but that's not what she thinks she should be doing so she came to Kitasanriku. Mizuguchi who was a talent manager but couldn't accept what he was doing so he quit and came to Kitasanriku. Now, Suzuka who can't sing but can't accept how she is also is in Kitasanriku."
Senpai's Tamagoyaki. Some viewers think that the cake-like tamagoyaki Taneichi makes is almost impossible, impractical or tedious to make. Danburi says, "Even real sushi shops won't make it that way and will take much longer than what they've showed. In most case, even sushi shops will use rolled kind or buy commercially made ones." Nevertheless, if you want to try it out, here's a recipe.
(info: yahoo)
Amachan internet lingo. Viewers surmise that the drama raked in medium high TV ratings due to the notion that maybe many elderly viewers could not appreciate its pop cultural references and story angles, and tuned out. However, it was such a huge phenomenon among younger viewers and created quite a buzz especially among Japanese users of the social media and the internet, that new words related to the asadora were coined. Words include: Amanomics (Ama-chan's economic impact, a take on Abenomics), and Ama-Loss and PASD (Post-Ama-chan Stress Disorder), both said to be feelings of loss felt by fans after the drama is over.
In Twitter, hashtags were created by fans to signify what kind of viewer they are: "AsaAma" (Morning-Ama or those who watch in the morning, 8 am), "HiruAma" (Noon Ama, 11:45 am), "YoruAma" (Evening Ama, 12:45 am), "RokuAma" (Recorded Ama), "2Ama, 3Ama" (seeing an episode twice, thrice, etc.), and "AmaChua" (tuned in the middle of an episode).
Matsuda Ryuhei's tsundere character, Mizuguchi Takuma was a big hit among female viewers. Hashtags of "Mizutaku" became trending topics, including "Mizutaku ore no heya matsuri", wherein fans post pix and fanart of Mizutaku. Also there was "MizuHug" (from Ep. 126); "Mizufukuzo" (Literally "Water shortage", if he is not present in an episode); and "Mizubitashi" ("Abundant Water" if he has many scenes in an episode).
(info: huffingtonpost.ja)
Amaboom. The show's boom was picked up by other shows, even in other networks, coming up with their own parodies. Fans including showbiz people, artists (pix below), and writers also wrote and tweeted about the drama, including Asozan Daifunka, Matsuura Hisaki, and (sorry, if my bias is showing lol) "Moteki" and "Mahoro" screenwriter/director One Hitoshi. He tweeted on September 18 about Ep. 146 (Gif scene above when Yui finally admitted she still wants to be an Idol): "I saw a recorded episode from today. All the actors including Yui-chan and their groove in the last 5 minutes was amazing~. I got goose bumps, almost cried. Editing was great too. This may be the best episode so far."
"This morning’s Ama-chan, that groove, you can never create like that in a movie. That’s why TV dramas are so much fun. Hashimoto Ai, she was so cool. And you can feel the atmosphere of the filming set. When you see a scene like that, it makes me so happy. TV filming set is great."
(info: tweet 1, tweet 2) (translation: danburi)And after each episode... This drama's impact is so unique and crazy that people would even be talking about the programs that follow each episode! For example, after watching Ep. 98, One Hitoshi tweeted, "...I like watching the reactions of Udo-san and Inocchi in the mornings, but I also enjoy seeing the facial expressions of Announcer Takase (Kozo) at noon which differ slightly with the contents of Amachan ending. Today’s ending was "GMT’s debut song will be made!" "Jejeje!" and he was smiling a little (Pic above)."
Viewers would be looking forward to Asa-ichi (NHK morning magazine news show that comes after Ama-chan's 8 am slot) wherein V6 member turned NHK TV host, Inohara Yoshihiko or "Inocci" would make his comments about each episode with his co-host, Udo Yumiko. One notable comment he made was when he pointed out some similarities of the second verse lyrics of "Shiosai no Memories" (Are you leaving me, without saying goodbye?) with the opening lyrics of "Sailor Suit and Machine Gun" ("Goodbye" is not a word to signify a parting).
With Takase Kozo (NHK noon newscaster, comes in after the asadora's 11:45 am slot), people would regularly be posting screenshots of episodes in drama forums along with Takase's "reaction of the day."
(info: twitter, livedoor)
Amachan Fanart. Both well-known artists/mangakas and not-so-well known but talented fans of the show posted their works in the internet, during the show's run, including mangas, sushi art, and even latte art. Here are some sample of fanart from various artists, illustrators, and mangakas:
Hope you enjoyed watching Amachan~!
EDIT: Added more Amachan Trivia Notes! Link below...
Trivia Notes:
Batch 1: (Part 1) (Part 2)
Batch 2: (Part1) (Part 2) (Part 3)
Amachan Episode Index: (link)
