the ALMOST-KISS / belated WELCOME 2 new toma fan map members!

[above: just some cute hana kimi manga covers that i saw at yesasia. i wish toma/maki/shun posed like this for pics 2 promote hana kimi! hehe. especially the 2nd one.]

'sup! =)
i'll try 2 update soon w/hachikuro screencaps,
but 4 now, a short post 4 u. =)

the 2nd pic above reminded me that toma never kissed maki in the series, only hugged her. aww... =/
but 1 of my fav tomaki scenes will always be that almost-kiss scene on the bench, that would have been such a sweet kiss scene, much sweeter than the 2 times shun kissed maki in the series!!
but i guess sometimes, the almost-kiss moments R more memorable than the actual kiss moments. =)

frappr has been having some problems, with the map not loading right recently, and so i think it also had problems in loading the new pics of new members. i only recently checked the map pics and saw the new members that joined! sorry 4 the late welcome.
~_~ THANKS FOR JOINING,
kaylammfan1 @usa, sabrina ms @malaysia, yankumi.cawaii @ ?, cutefaye_25 @ ?, val_chad27 @ ?, and knightniez_dva @ ? !

also, my VIVA TOMA! toma b-day MV reached
over 50,000 views today!! whoo hoo!! =)

akihabara@deep / red wristband

konnichiwa!
savvy kate des!
(btw, i can count to 5 in japanese now. lol...i still have a long way 2 go...
did i already say that i bought a Lonely Planet Japanese phrasebook?
well i did, but i haven't studied it much. haha. but any1 else, like me, who wants 2 learn some japanese,
u should definitely try buying a small phrasebook, and Lonely Planet is the best...
i feel a LITTLE less clueless/helpless now when listening 2 japanese. haha. really hoping i can learn more...gradually.)

sorry sorry, no long post yet, i was gonna talk about Hachikuro (AKA Honey & Clover), but i thought i should watch more of it be4 posting, besides, i haven't finished resizing the screencaps...here's just one of them, btw. toma/takemoto cuteness!!

at the same time, i've been watching akihabara@deep, but i haven't gotten very far, as u can see from my screencaps... but i really love this series, though it can be pretty dark, but it's also SO funny!! toma as Box is hilarious/cute/cool! =P aren't a lot of toma's characters like that! he plays those characters so well, probably cuz TOMA IS hilarious/cute/cool in real life. :)
i've uploaded all the screencaps i got so far here:
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd87/ilovetoma/akihabaraATdeep/

[just a small version of the screencaps, it's bigger than this!]
................................
this is random, but i've been wearing this red wristband that i've actually had since junior high school or something...it's actually a 'say no to drugs' wristband, but i turned it inside out. i've been wearing it ever since i watched hand kimi and noticed nakatsu often wears wristbands, especially the red one, he wears a lot!! hehe. it reminds of nakatsu/toma, when i look at the red wristband. so i always wear it....just that i wanna buy a rubber wristband like the ones toma was wearing sometimes in hana kimi, but u can mostly only buy them in bulk (like at OrientalTrading.com), or else i'd already buy one! haha...but if any1 knows where u can buy some nice ones online/in store (whether it's the rubber or any other kinda nice wristband) that's not in bulk and not too costly, pls tell me!
thanks. =)

OH, ALSO, TODAY MY TOMA B-DAY MV FINALLY REACHED THE #1 SPOT OF THE MOST WATCHED VIDEOS AT MY YOUTUBE PAGE!! YESSS! I'M REALLY HAPPY AND AMAZED, CUZ all the other videos in my top 5 are uploaded 1 yr ago, while the toma MV has only been uploaded 4 months ago!!! THANKS, ALL TOMA FANS WHO WATCHED THE MV, AND I HOPE A LOT OF U COME 2 THIS BLOG AFTERWARDS!!!

P.S. actually, this post turned out kinda long anyway, so i guess i kept my promise! haha. later!
-kate`*

Toma: the life of the party! / Toma (probably) does NOT have a girlfriend!

hi there!

here's just a quick update, a longer update coming soon! =)

jmimiru at LJ asked if i had the scans of toma's "the life of the party" magazine article a while ago. and so i uploaded 4 her/him the only 3 pics i had here
(sorry 2 the LJ member who uploaded, i don't remember where i downloaded it!)
Then,
the other day i was checking my toma blog ranking at google again,
and i accidentally came across a site that has 2 big scans of toma from that article!!
this is really just dumb luck!! i just checked out the site cuz i thought the site name, "alternate reality" sounded really cool. haha. but i'm so happy 4 this extra pic!!
just thought i'd share with jmimiru and every1 here. =)
u can see it here: http://www.afad.nl/alternate/tag/ikuta-toma/

........................(also came across the info below by accident!)

~_~ GIRLS/LADIES, U STILL HAVE A CHANCE!!!

according 2 this person at wikiAnswers, toma probably does not have a girlfriend right now.

well, it makes sense if he doesn't, he probably spends most of his time hanging out with his guy friends or working. haha...or eating hamburgers. when he's not doing those things, seems like toma is at bored at home, waiting 4 some1 2 invite him 2 go out and EAT!! lol! and it's always hard 4 teen idols like him 2 date....i bet his boss forbids it and he'd have 2 keep it secret even if he could find the right girl who's not intimidated by his beauty & complete AWESOMENESS *_* and being hounded by the paparazzi.....i've heard a fan say that toma's been romantically linked 2 some girls be4, but i don't know anything more about that, only that she said there's been rumors he's had girlfriends. well, he's still young, plenty of time 4 dating after he works on his career first....
WOW...whoever ends up with toma, she's gonna be the luckiest girl on earth!!!!
wait...his past girlfriends, whoever they were, R all so lucky too!!! he must have had girlfriends before, cuz in the magazine interviews where they ask him about love/relationship/girlfriend stuff, what he says....toma has loved and lost before....
Toma, "you'll find the right person" some day! :)
......
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_is_Ikuta_Toma_girlfriend

It was stated in a magazine interview with Toma that he chooses friendship over love. That being said, it is possible that he isn't into dating right now, and there are implications that he prefers having an active career along with his male friends.

However, he did discuss before about how he would like his ideal date to be.

Of course, it isn't known for sure until now if he has a girlfriend or someone he likes.

Hope this helps.

to: sarahcmteng@myspace

sarah, i tried messaging/commenting u thru myspace, but can't, cuz i can't add u as a friend. so hopefully u'll see this message here:

hi there,

sorry, i can't help u. i can't read japanese and i don't know of any other sites that R still selling the first press of the dvd! maybe u can try asking at the tomalicious intl forum, though! it's linked under the LINKS section here, on the right, below.

-kate`*

happy V day

happy valentine's day!
it's past in japan...i'm always a day behind! toma probably spent the day filming 4 his series, but hopefully he still did something special 2 celebrate...

hope u all don't mind that i've added some google ads 2 the right, just hoping 2 make a little bit of $ that could help me save up $ 2 buy the part 2 dvd box of hana kimi. haha...money can't buy u love, but it sure can buy lots of other things that can make u happy!!

later!
-kate`*

just toma love.

hi!

i just changed this blog's name 2 just "toma love".
i tried finding my blog using google and couldn't unless i typed in some specific stuff at this blog. arrggh!! =/ also added toma's name in japanese 2 the "purpose of this blog" section on the right. hopefully it'll help this blog get more traffic.

that's all 4 now!

-kate`*

** birthday post! **

(got the pic on the left from helen@singapore that posted it on the toma fans map. 1 of my FAV FAV pics of toma!!!)

hey every1, yes, it's my birthday today. =)
...thank you, thank you! you're too kind. =P
seriously though, i wanna thank eunixe & yamapink 4 their birthday wishes!! ^_^
i haven't had time 2 go 2 LJ recently, but i went 2day, and there's a lot of new toma goodies there, thanks 2 TFS 4 new subbed toma videos, and lots of other toma fans 4 all the beautiful scans of toma!!!!!! this is my best b-day present, all these toma media!! ~_~

u MUST go 2 these places and save these scans of toma!! he is soooo cute in the valentine's day themed pics. flirty toma is always so irresistable!!! *_* and i love seeing toma in ties, but of course he looks good in anything!

http://teacup79.livejournal.com/4662.html#cutid1
[casual toma]
http://teacup79.livejournal.com/4459.html#cutid1
[V Day scans! tomalicious!!! THANKS 2 TEACUP79 4 all these scans! :)]
http://teacup79.livejournal.com/3300.html
[cute!!!! especially with those glasses!]
http://teacup79.livejournal.com/2677.html
[luv the tie!]

CNY was a few days ago, made me think about chinese astrology....
it's the year of the rat this year, and toma was born in the year of the rat! it's supposed 2 mean this year will be a lucky 1 for him! awesome!
ALSO, according 2 the years we were born in, we'd be a highly compatible couple/friends!! haha. me born in the year of the dog and toma, the rat. if u wanna check out your Chinese Love Sign Compatibility, go to this site:
http://www.karmacalculator.com/chinese-astrology-compatibility.html
(if u don't know what animal sign u R, check here:
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/chinese-zodiac.htm)

here's some good news, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e won for the best drama of 2007 poll at the LJ jdramas site!! BRAVO!

watching honey and clover... / screencaps =)

this is a long time coming, but i've finally uploaded the screencaps i got from the 1st episode of Honey & Clover. and i told myself 2 not get too much screencaps, but i still ended up getting a lot!! it's just so hard 2 resist, when toma's so cute. hehe. and some R just nice caps of the other characters or scenary, etc. too. i like 2 see a bunch at once, so i always put a bunch of medium sized caps into 1 .bmp, hope u don't mind.

i've downloaded ep. 2 from the jdramas LJ site, but i haven't watched it yet. from now on, just check this link once in a while 4 more screencaps, i'll upload more as i watch more. =)
http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd87/ilovetoma/honeyANDclover%20screencaps/
[NOTE: some of the caps of toma in the cherry blossoms scene are resized ones that were originally captured by reelrhythm @ http://reelrhythm.livejournal.com/5494.html]

so...
this series is as i expected, so far, it's kinda boring to me. and the dialogue is a little....generic/uninteresting 2 me....and the cherry blossoms scene at the start is much less romantic and impressive 4 me when i see the fake cherry blossoms up-close. haha. sorry, i'm always a little too critical. of course they had 2 be fake, it was winter la!
Like i said be4, i don't like bittersweet dramas, in general. i always prefer the romantic comedies. but i think this series can grow on me. i already really like toma's character.

but i ReALLY don't like the character hagumi!!! i know she's supposed 2 be shy, but she's SO...abnormal (almost like she's autistic!) and slow in her actions/talking---it's very annoying and drives me a little crazy that all the guys like her when she's like...THAT. and also, it's a little creepy how she's supposed 2 look like a child, though she's 18---cuz it's almost like the guys are cradle robbing!! isn't it funny that in real life, she's only 15 or 16, even younger than her character's supposed 2 be!! but though she's so young, 4 some reason she has this very mature look 2 her, and it's kinda mis-matched with how her character's supposed 2 be look so young. what else....the actor that plays morita reminds me of eason chan, his looks and personality. haha...but he's quiet likeable, like the rest of the cast. i don't see what was so amazing about hagumi's painting!! oh well, it's supposed 2 be abstract, hard 2 get.

when they were talking about how 2 character words are magnificent/special, weren't u thinking, YES, THEY'RE RIGHT, THIS TOO: TO-MA!!!! hahaha.

that's all 4 now ppl.

see ya,
KA-TIE`*! ;)

P.S. HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR, EVERY1! ~_~

CONGRATS, TOMA! Most Improved Actor & Favorite Male Character!!

congrats to toma!!! ^__^

he easily won the Most Improved Actor (total votes: 94) & Favorite Male Character (total votes: 131) awards at the AF Golden Globes 2007! also, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e won for Best Drama (total votes: 142) !! yeahhh!! can't believe i didn't know that u could also vote 4 him for most improved actor, though! well, he still won by a lot without my vote, so that's ok. =)
oh, also, maki and shun won some awards, of course.
u can see the full results here.

also, WELCOME 2 the toma fan map, fatma @usa! =)

also, THANKS 2 the now-increased-to-12 ppl for coming 2 this blog a lot!! it really does make me happy when more ppl come here, and more often, too! ~_~

love me!

[screencap from danson tang's "love me" MV]

hey all,

=)
thanks 2 all who commented and came here after my post at LJ about the dvd, i got 252 hits for this blog the other day!! today AF will post up the results of the AF Golden Globes Awards 2007!
i'm sure toma will win 4 fav male character. ^_^ i'll post his and hana kimi-related results here once it's been announced.

a virtual hug 2 all the new members of the toma fan map, our big & international family of toma fans!! ~_~ hidayat @singapore, alexandra (alexpallex) @sweden, april @usa, christina @canada, and kAr0n @phillipines.
haha, i notice lots of fans from the phillipines, singapore, and malaysia, but only 1 member from japan. i guess cuz this blog is in english...

i changed the background song here again to "Love Me" (Ai Wo). i really love this song, and just listened 2 it 4 the first time yesterday! u can watch the cute MV here (eng. subbed!). it's such a sweet song, also very catchy. it's a cover of strobbo's Love Letter.
(edit: 4got 2 say, danson, like toma, also got really popular after he starred in hana kimi, but of course, for danson, it was the taiwan hana kimi. he was the dormhead!)

I GOT IT!!!! the dvd box set & TIE!!!! / how 2 play region 2 DVDs

[i put the pen next 2 the box so u have something 2 compare it against, so u know how big it is]

[on the tie, right here, it does say "NOT FOR SALE" & some kinda washing instructions...]

i was not gonna buy it, but then i read 1 of toma's blog messages, & he was saying that ppl that buy the dvd, remember 2 take pics of yourself wearing the tie!! i didn't know it came with a tie! well, just the first press of the dvd comes with it.

the TIE!!!!!! the tie is the best part of the uniform, and i like ties in general!!! but i spent a couple days mulling over it....2 buy or not 2 buy?? in the end i did, and i checked right after i ordered, and it said "first press: sold out"! I BOUGHT THE LAST FIRST PRESS VERSION FROM CD JAPAN! wicked cool!!!!!

can't believe it took only 2 days (shipped 27, got 29) 2 get the dvd box set!! had 2 sign 2 forms 2 get the box, and it's so NICELY wrapped in a green tissue paper!! wah. the packaging is really nice. i first looked thru the photobook (nice!) and then tried 2 play the DVD.... i took some pics of the dvd box and tie 2 share with every1! =) also, scanned the nicest toma-related pics from the photobook that came with the dvd. (some of the color is messed up, my scanner does that sometimes. =/ ) http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd87/ilovetoma/Hanazakari%20No%20Kimitachi%20E%20dvd/

spent quite some time later trying 2 tie the tie. (i'm wearing it now!!) haha! i've never worn a tie in before in my life! read an online tutorial with pics and i messed up several times. gave up and looked for a video instructional thing on youtube. i messed up a couple more times be4 i got it. the windsor knot. now i know how 2 do it!! but i'll leave it already tied just in case. i printed out the crest of the uniform 2 stick on the only gray jacket i have 2 complete the uniform. looks authentic and pretty real!! took LOTS of pics of me in my "uniform". lol!! fun!!! i was so COLD while taking the pics though. anyway, i really love this tie!

( *___* nosebleed!! no, didn't get it from looking at toma's pics. haha.
i got it later that evening cuz seems like the weather is too dry and i mighta blown my nose too hard.
funny, how after watching hana kimi, nosebleeds/showers/wristbands remind me of nakatsu/toma!! lol. and also hamburgers and now shorts makes me think of him. haha!!!)

..................................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xizJ2KXq7Tg&sdig=1
[u can watch a commercial for the DVD box (part 1), which shows the DVD box, tie and photobook. thanks to Enchamien 4 the link!]

i encourage all hana kimi fans 2 buy the DVD box part 1 *IF* it's the first press!!!!
(if not, u can wait till later, when the price goes down. haha...)

cuz u'll absolutely love the tie and feel like u're a student at osaka gakuen! the DVD box part 2 comes with the nice crest that is on their uniform jacket. i'm not sure if it's got any extra DVD with special stuff... the first DVD box set, FIRST PRESS only, comes with the tie and 4th dvd with special features. i'm not sure if the photobook comes with the regular non-first press versions....but probably not. unfortunately, i've asked at yesasia.com and sensasian.com, and they both say the first press version is sold out. i went 2 these places be4 cdjapan.com. and when i got there, the dvd set part 2 FIRST PRESS was already sold out. who knew i'd be the last 2 buy the first press of the dvd box part 1???!!!

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-aa-49-en-70-2d7n.html
[this place might still have first press, since they still have the pic of the tie there and it's not as well-known as cdjapan or the other sites...but remember 2 ask them first be4 u buy if they have it or not!]

i did some research online about the buying options one has for hana kimi and other japanese videos, etc. if u don't live in japan/don't speak japanese....but it's a really long list and i don't want 2 take up too much room here, so i just uploaded that Notebook file here. u can read all about it HERE.
I HOPE THIS HELPS OUT PPL WHO R NEW TO BUYING JAPANESE MEDIA ONLINE, LIKE ME. =)


-------------------- YOU *CAN* WATCH REGION 2 DVDs WHERE U LIVE! =D--------------------------

u might be wondering how in the world would i watch the region 2 dvds (cuz i'm in the usa), in japanese even! well, i can't do anything about the japanese part....but i remember the dialogue of the cute toma scenes, which is a lot. haha.... and i'm trying 2 learn basic basic japanese.

and the region 2. well, there R ways 2 get around that.

this site teaches u various ways:
http://www.j-fan.com/edit.cgi?selected=dvd_region
[but about turning your PS2 into a region free dvd player.....my brother has an Action Replay Max CD that's supposed 2 do that, but he's never used that option, but when i tried, it won't play the dvd! and i looked online, and there's at least 1 other person who has the same problem. dunno if it only not works for region 2 dvd's?]

also, thanks to these dsoul.net members 4 teaching me more ways 2 watch region 2 dvd's no matter where u live:

jeffchen:
well what you need to look for is a "Region Free" dvd software, there are many region free dvd software available online and from the top of my memory cyberlink DVD only allows you to change you region settings only 3 times or somehing like that, the best is to look for a region free dvd playing software, look for VLC media player i think they are region free

hope this helps
................

ord0g:
Use DVD Decrypter or DVD Shrink and rip the DVD to remove the region coding. Then burn it out again onto another DVD. Otherwise you can buy a region free DVD player to hook up to the TV, which are most on the market these days. Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, Toshiba are all brands that don't care about region code.

.............

i used the VLC player, but when playing, the video & audio is glitchy and the audio is a little messed up. it's almost impossible 2 try 2 watch it like that! but i tried doing what ord0g recommended, and i can watch it on my regular dvd player now!!!!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!!! IT'S SO COOL 2 SEE TOMA ON MY TV, AND THE VIDEO QUALITY IS PERFECT, SO SHARP!!!!
every1 that can see toma on their TV often or even in person at certain shows/events/concerts, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LUCKY U ARE!!!!!!!!

HELP! where can i see video/pics when toma was filming the marathon scene for hana kimi??

[credit: sorry, i forgot were i got these pics, i'm sure it's probably from ppl at LJ, though.
edit: alexpallex made the icon. =) ]

COULD SOME1 TELL ME WHERE I CAN WATCH THE VIDEO OR SEE MORE PICS FROM WHEN TOMA WAS FILMING THE MARATHON SCENE FOR HANA KIMI? WHEN HE'S GIVING THE THUMBS UP (in the avatar above)! i've looked for it at the toma LJ site, but i've only found 1 video clip from when they were talking about filming this scene, but i didn't see toma giving the thumbs up in that video!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i really really really really wanna find it!

untitled (2.1.08)

hiiii!
sorry, recently, sometimes, it's a whole week between posts.
i'll try 2 not let that happen too much!

---- A WARM WELCOME ~_~ for our new toma fan map members:
summer (@usa), jasmin (@phillipines), briana (@usa), norieli (@phillipines)


---- some random things 2 say about this blog:

.WOW, notice there's now a total of 10 ppl that check this blog often! 1 person has been here even more than me!! i'm impressed!! =) THANKS 4 COMING! MUCH LOVE TO THESE 10 PPL. ^_^
YOU're tomarrific! haha...

.the other day, i tried searching for "toma ikuta" at google and my blog was at the #10 spot!!!!! =) bottom of the page, but still better than page 2!! but it fluctuates, today i'm back at #11.

----toma can't really speak english. aw, i was hoping he'd know more eng. but when he sings in eng., he sings very well, his pronunciation is 90% accurate!! =) well, i'm trying 2 learn some basic japanese, in case i ever meet him....:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20080106040613AAC8jLS

OrEo ^_^
Does Ikuta Toma knows how to speak English?
* 3 weeks ago
hitomi k's Avatar by hitomi k
Member since:
25 June 2007
Total points:
637 (Level 2)
.......................
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Toma is not fluent in English. He knows only little bits and pieces like 'Hi' 'Bye'... very simple speech. He even mentioned in an interview that he wanted to speak to a foreign dancer before but he didn't because he thought his English was bad. I wish he could speak English though! :P But i guess i have to work harder on my Japanese skills then.
P.S. Tomakun is the best! xD

----- recent toma stuff i watched:

i've been watching toma's 2006 tv series, Akihabara@Deep recently...only on ep.2!
though the series is a lot darker and has some violence and the plot in general is weird, but i like it. haha... it goes without saying that toma is CUTE, though he's supposed 2 be a computer geek/clean freak. i really love seeing toma in funny roles like this!!! it's where he's at his best, the funny roles. hehe.

oh, toma was on a gameshow in january, poor toma, they were pretty mean 2 him and he got sprayed in the face, HARD! toma's expressions were so funny, though!! u gotta watch it. u can go to my playlist here, it's the last 2 videos.
http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B87DE29527FED9D4