First things first: with some computer problems, I haven’t really been too caught up on the scene and what’s happening – which means I haven’t been blogging much and probably won’t be blogging much for awhile.

But just for fun while I’m borrowing a friend’s computer, here’s a list of the ladies in Japanese entertainment I want to look like the most. I found that many times, talent and popularity doesn’t equal me exactly wanting to look at them – and women that male fans (and some female fans) drool over don’t seem so hot to me.

So based completely on being shallow and judgmental on looks for once, here’s my top ten girls:

10. Toda Erika

Toda Erika used to look a little weird and awkward to me, but it’s mostly her fashion that caught my attention. I’ll admit, I only started liking her after I saw her in her drama Liar Game with a great colorful costume, bright tights and all. Also, recently she’s been going for a more sexy look – and it’s really working for her.

9. Otsuka Ai

Otsuka Ai has her moments for me; sometimes she looks really insanely gorgeous, and sometimes she looks kind of frumpy (her Rocket Sneaker promotions, or her Tokyo Friends promotion posters…) but I think she has great style – I always want to copy her clothes and hairstyles. (And, she really deserves a spot on this list because I actually went into a salon with her Renai Shashin-era picture, asking for that haircut.) Quirky style, and pulls everything off really cute and prettily.

8. Tanaka Reina

I knew almost nothing about Tanaka Reina; I still don’t know much about her aside from that she’s one of the tops in Momusu now and that she has wonky eyes, but ever since a long time ago I thought she was really beautiful; it’s all in those amazing eyes.

7. Nocchi of Perfume

Nocchi has her moments for me – sometimes she looks plain on shows – but most times, she’s so amazing and fierce. A lot of her appeal towards me comes from her hair – I always love her hairstyles. I also love how she pulls off her clothes; she looks good in almost everything.

6. Suzuki Airi

Yet another H!P girl I know almost nothing about, except for that fact that she’s really pretty. And yes, she’s young, but hey – judging totally on looks here. Like Tanaka Reina, I really like Airi’s eyes.

5. Shaku Yumiko

Shaku Yumiko is just really, really hot. And wears clothes really well. I mean, I finished her drama Himitsu no Hanazono not for male eye candy but because I really liked the clothes she wore in that drama. And – really now, look at the picture, she’s just really, really hot.

4. Ishihara Satomi

Ishihara Satomi used to look kind of plain sometimes, but recently she’s just been layering on the wow factor. Always really simple looking, but pulls everything off really perfectly – just gorgeous. I haven’t watched her dramas so I have no idea how she carries herself, but from what I’ve seen she’s beautiful and graceful.

3. Aya of SweetS

Yeah, okay, SweetS has been defunct for awhile and I have no idea what she looks like now – but I love how SweetS-era Aya looked like. Style-wise, not so much, but she has a very pretty face.

2. Horikita Maki

She’s not a “standard beauty” by any sense, but she can pull off the long hair and flirty dresses or the short hair and boyish fashion. She is just beautiful, period, and so close to being #1 on my list, if not for…

1. Aragaki Yui

Aragaki Yui is just so naturally gorgeous. Her hair, makeup, and clothes are all rather simple, but she always pulls it off beautifully. It doesn’t hurt that she actually has great style, of course.

So there we go – if I wake up tomorrow looking as Aragaki Yui, I could die happily.

After listening to her debut album “Sora,” I feel like Gakki doesn’t have a very strong voice. I love the girl, but she’s just not a naturally talented singer. She’s not terribly bad – during live performances she was usually on tune and beat – but the quality of her voice itself is thin and weedy and she doesn’t have much power. But for many of her songs, I thought it worked well: she makes her singing work for her mellow pop-rock genre, and it usually sounds good.

(In case youtube kills off this video any moment now: Veoh link)

I actually like the most of “Make My Day” – it’s a nice midtempo pace and her cute vocals match the atmosphere of the song. I’m not feeling the chorus though – I just feel like her voice can’t pull off suddenly shooting up to the higher register notes, and something about the composition of that part just sounds a bit off from the rest of the song for me.

The song isn’t as good as her other two well known songs (“Heavenly Days”, “Orange”) but by itself it’s pretty good. Either she or her management are really taking her musical career seriously (for good reason, too: her “Sora” album had fantastic sales.).

Something else to look forward to: one DVD version will contain PVs for “Orange,” “Heavenly Days,” and “Sora” (the song off of the same-named album) while the other has this PV as well as the naked voice version of this and “Heavenly Days.” What’s a naked voice version? Beats me, but I’m up for it.