Hi,

I have been watching a morning japanese drama in Southern California called Honmamon which I am enjoying very much, however when I went to the web to find out more info the sites are very scarce.

A Few questions I have are:

1. Are the morning Dramas not really consisdered jDoramas?

2. Is Honmamon know by another name? Perhaps some Kanji?

3. Is it possible to buy it on DVD or VCD?

Forgive me if I have strayed off topic, I will try to get up to speed quickly.

Later,

EC

ok lets see what i can do since i've been watching it also... I TAPE IT!

1 yes they are considered jdrama..they're from japan... its just a diff type of drama produced by NHK.... as a rule NHK always MAKES extremely LONGGGGGGG dramas over 100 eps. so they are know as simply NHK dramas the wilddly popular (in japan) "CHURASAN" is an example of this...so is "musashi"

2 nope Honmamon is know as "Honmamon" lol.... its even typed in hiragana!

3 it is...just not in the states.... dvds can be bought in japan or trough an import shop... vcd can be found in malaysia, signapore, hong kong, mainland china, taiwan, the philippines and indo./..basically any place where j-ent! is popular... again import shops or ebay lol!

hope that helps u out ...if ya have anymore Qs just ask

ecurtis wrote:

1. Are the morning Dramas not really consisdered jDoramas?

Good question... I'm not really sure what exactly the criteria for a Japanese drama is. Right now, I follow a Japanese program people in the U.S. would call a daytime drama or simply soap operas, called Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari (Making It Through). In the JDorama database, it only lists the first season, though there are right now six seasons, with a seventh one coming out in Japan in 2004.

Other than the JDorama database, this Japanese drama hasn't received that much coverage on-line. That's because, according to one web site, the series is pretty much geared for the much older Japanese audience. Therefore, Honmamon may be in the same boat as Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari.

--- groink

i watch that show every morning did u see sakura the one before? they are the best :applaud:

i saw a most of sakura... but i totaly LOVED CHURASAN (it was b4 sakura) cuz kanno miho was in churasan *lol* and it was a popular show!

i saw that doesn't the lady have something wrong with her and she gets an attack and her son goes out to get people to help her i liked that show :hehe:

i saw that doesn't the lady have something wrong with her and she gets an attack and her son goes out to get people to help her i liked that show :hehe:

who saw it this morning? i can't beleive ichiro died i am so sad

I wish I could get up early in the morning to watch that show. 7:30 is just too early

u can tape it potato... that's what i do...7:30 is just WAY too early...just set up ur box to record

i just noticed that the gal in honmamon is the same girl from "season of the sun"

My Review: 9/10

This is my first time watching an asadora, and I can now fully understand why some prefer this format to the 9-12 episode series.

Honmamon spans 10 years, and through this time we see the growth of a young girl by the name of Konoha. Through hardship, sacrifice, and a will that can tear down mountains, Konoha matures into a woman who aims to make her dreams come true, no matter what the cost.

There are so many wonderful things about this drama. To begin with, you really feel like you�fre part of the story. You literally get to see every corner of the characters�f lives, and witness their growth through their daily routines. The casting for this drama is the best I have ever scene. Every actor/actress was perfect�c except for perhaps Kaito Ken. Physically he fit the part beautifully, but his acting was really bad compared to the others. Mind you, I don�ft know whether it was because you get used to his acting (or lack of), or because he really does improve, but by the end he didn�ft bother me as much.

Fubuki Jun completely blew me away. When I first saw her in Orange Days, she was forgettable and a little annoying. In Honmamon, however, she was one of the brighter stars. Her character, Senri, quickly became my favourite and you can truly see the talent it took to fully portray this character. Fubuki was brilliant. As was Asou Yumi. As was everyone!

And then, of course, there is Ikewaki Chizuru. Someone give this girl an Oscar. I�fm still completely stunned by her performance. She portrayed every face of Konoha so perfectly�c one would think that you were actually witnessing the comings and goings of a real person. That scene when Konoha goes to the convent and cries out all her frustrations�c so powerful! There were many moments when I couldn�ft believe it was all make-believe�c There were even times when I hated her for what she was doing to her family.

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

When she told her mother-in-law that she would give up her family for her career, I couldn�ft sleep that night! I couldn�ft understand why she would abandon her daughter, Yukie, like that. Near the end, of course, we learn her thought process, but still it was a hard road to follow.

There are some discrepancies along the way, such as Konoha�fs pregnancy and how we don�ft at all see how it affects the restaurant, even though it was foreshadowed to (like the �ggod of death�h proclaiming that her taste would change). Also, once Konoha�fs half-sister leaves for Italy, we never hear of her again. But these discrepancies are few and easily forgiven considering the length of the show.

In the end, I�fm really glad I donated all the hours it took to complete this show. I�fm sad in the heart that it�fs over and that I can no longer follow Konoha and her family through their lives. I guess the next best thing would be to start from the beginning again�c
_________________

Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

Sugoi Sensei!! It's been over 3 years since I've seen Honmamon but reading your review, I just had a flashback to final scene when she's leaving for Europe and I remember thinking at the time, "NO! I want more!" but such is the way of dramas, unfortunately, they all have to end. Also glad you like Jun Fubuki, she is one of the greats.

Dang, this thread is three years old...

Wyn chan,

I'm glad you had a chance to get your feet wet on an asadora. Your review nails down the beauty of asadoras. Unfortunately not all asadoras are of the quality of Honma Mon. Those that have shown in the last few years that fall in the best quality genre include Sakura and the super asadora of all time Churasan.

I watched the ending again around the time I thought you would reach it. It is part of my "best" compilation. I'm a sucker for a romantic moment.

All of us that enjoyed Honma Mon continue to hope there will be a sequel but it does not appear so now. As time goes by, you can just about pick up any of the discs at random and play it for awhile and you will feel immediately that you are getting a visit from the Honma Mon cast.

ralphm1999 wrote:

Wyn chan, I'm glad you had a chance to get your feet wet on an asadora. Your review nails down the beauty of asadoras. Unfortunately not all asadoras are of the quality of Honma Mon. Those that have shown in the last few years that fall in the best quality genre include Sakura and the super asadora of all time Churasan. I watched the ending again around the time I thought you would reach it. It is part of my "best" compilation. I'm a sucker for a romantic moment. All of us that enjoyed Honma Mon continue to hope there will be a sequel but it does not appear so now. As time goes by, you can just about pick up any of the discs at random and play it for awhile and you will feel immediately that you are getting a visit from the Honma Mon cast.

I've already started doing that. I plan to download Churasan soon, as well as Sakura, which I stumbled across while looking up things on Honmamon.

I voted for Ikewaki Chizuru! She's become one of my fav actresses, especially after seeing her in the Joze to Tora to Sakana Tachi.
_________________

Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

I agree about Honma Mon...I remember I blew through it in a few days, watching obsessively, feeling I had fallen into a totally new world that I could not bear to leave. I never did totally understand Konoha's motivation, because her single-minded determination was so rock solid, it almost bordered on fanaticism. There was a scene later in the show when she and her friends were rolling around on the floor laughing, and it was a unique moment and made me realize how rare those simple enjoyments were for her.

The food was really the co-star of the series for me. I learned so much about Japanese cuisine and came to care about it almost as much as Konoha did. After watching all those sesame seeds being ground, I simply had to taste sesame tofu, which I finally found in a little soba place in the East Village. It was as delicious as I imagined it would be and always reminds me of the series.

The high priestess was one of my favorite characters. As many times as I've seen this ubiquitous actress, she will always be the high priestess to me.

Wynter, if you liked Konoha's mother, you should watch Younger Man. Her acting in that is so fine, and she has a major role.

I also became very fond of Konoha's aunt...this asadora has very strong women characters.

I think Sakura is the greatest of all the asadoras...and when you watch it, you can go to our Sakura forum and see how worked up we all got over every episode. It's absolutely divine, and I hope you love it as much as we all did.

It is a sad moment. Sato Kei, Konoha's grandfather, passed away. He was such an integral part of this great asadora.

ralphm1999 wrote:

It is a sad moment. Sato Kei, Konoha's grandfather, passed away. He was such an integral part of this great asadora.

So sorry to hear about his passing. Honmamon was probably my favorite asadora.