J-Dramas
So of late i’ve been getting into Japanese dramas, or J-dramas for short. They are really good and done quite different than in the U.S. where most dramas just keep getting extended into infinity with no real overbearing plot. Japanese dramas are typically 10-12 episodes and are a complete story within themselves. Some series each episode is a little story within itself, though in other series, each episode may just be the overall movement of the main plot line.
J-drama wiki to find more information on the ratings, actors and theme songs for the recent Japanese dramas.
D-Addicts a great site to find tons of j-dramas to download with subs
SARS – a fansubbing group that does alot of good dramas
The dramas are sorted in order of how i like them. I.e. my favorite drama is at the top.
Dramas with a type of EP means they were generally episodic and each episode feels like a complete story.
Dramas in Queue to watch:
Haken no Hinkaku
Saiyuuki
Yamada Taro
Rondo
|
Type |
Name | Rating | Season | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Drama |
Karei-Naru Ichizoku | 27.15% | Winter ’07 | The best last episode of any drama i have watched, amazing to the end. This is my favorite drama so far, just an amazing story. Just a little heavy of a drama, but damn good. |
|
Romantic Comedy |
Densha Otoko | 21.0% | Summer ’05 | Series was waaay better casting wise and story-wise compared to the movie. The ending wasn’t a let-down like all the other dramas i’ve been watching recently. Have to admit this was also the only drama with an SP that wasn’t a complete waste of time. Alot of recap, but in a way in which it showed you what was happening from the other people’s perspectives. |
|
HS Love Story |
Hana Yori Dango – S1 and S2 | 19.8% 21.7% |
Fall ’05 Winter ’07 |
Great high school love story, has Jun Matsumoto and Shun Oguri. Again another drama whose ending i found weak. However if you watch both seasons together as if it was one continuous drama you won’t be let down.Can’t wait for the movie to come out this summer! It’s called “Hana yori dango final” so hopefully it’s a continuation of the story and not a retelling of the story. The japanese love re-tellings of the story where 90% of the story is the same except the last 5 min. |
|
Drama |
Ruri no Shima | 12.6% | Fall ’05 | Had low expectations for this drama But it turned out being a very very enjoyable drama in the end. Even though it had low viewership it’s easily become one of my favorites. Had Haruka Igawa who i think it pretty cute for being an older woman. Has an SP as well that was awesome in the sense that it was a perfect continuation of the series. The best part, unlike most other SPs, entire series recap consisted of only the first 5 min of the show. |
|
EP HS Drama |
Nobuta wo Produce | 16.89% | Fall ’05 | My first drama i ever watched… Good to boot, Seishun Amigo song came from this drama. Stars Maki Horikita |
|
EP HS Love Story |
Hanazakari no Kimi Tachi e | 17.04% | Summer ’07 | Has Maki Horikita and Shun Oguri, great over all series, and the ending was good with a nice teaser into a possible season 2. |
|
Love Drama |
First Kiss | 14.1% | Summer ’07 | Has Inoue Mao from Hana Yori Dango – though she’s much cuter in this series. Nothing really memorable about this drama, but still a pretty good watch. The ending was decent too which is always a plus. Though wished they delved a little deeper into the character relationships a little more. |
|
EP HS Drama |
Gokusen | n/a | ’02 | has Jun Matsumoto and Shun Oguri. This drama too had a decent ending. It gets predictable near the end, but still a amusing drama till the end. |
|
Drama |
Shiawase ni Naritai | 11.8% | Summer ’05 | The main chick is very cute, but the ending made no sense |
|
Love Story |
Busu no hitomi ni koishiteru | 15.9% | Spring ’06 | The ending here was a big let down and the SP was even crappier. As it was 90% recap and the other 10% wasn’t even a plot… |
|
EP HS Drama |
Gokusen 2 | n/a | Fall ’05 | Literally a rehash of the original series with a different class. |
|
EP Detective Drama |
Galileo | 21.9% | Fall ’07 | The acting was good and character memorable. Just sucked plot wise. Really, if you are familiar with the american show Numbers and liked it, you’ll find this show completely retarded. At least in numbers when the guy does freaky math to help find the criminal it makes sense. In this one he’s hears “The girl had brown hair” and then starts writing nonsense all over teh place. To me, i have no idea how this drama broke the 21.9% barrier…Oh… and you guessed… weakass ending… Like… the worst so far… I literally was like “Fuck you!” |