 1 Pound no Fukuin [１ポンドの福音]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A good light-hearted drama. Kame was very cute in here! ^_^ | Ame to Yume no atoni [雨と夢の後に]
| Anego [アネゴ]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched) |
Bambino! [バンビーノ!]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
Yet another crappy drama. Expect no surprises from this drama... the storyline is so typical that it hurts. It's your typical "proud guy who's full of himself stumbles over his first obstacle, and loses self-confidence. He gradually realizes "what it means to be a chef" and works hard for his goal... and eventually succeeds" story. It tries really hard to pose as a meaningful drama by having these forced and meaningless "touching dialogs". It could've been a more enjoyable ride if it omitted those scenes...
The pseudo-Italian food was not even appetizing...
I enjoyed watched Jun though, haha. (Hence the rating of 3.) | Boku no Aruku Michi [僕の歩く道]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
First thing I wanna say about this drama is that the tone resembles that overplayed indie film style so closely! For some it might be an added artistic element, but some might find it a bit boring, because the dialog is sparse and there's not much dramatic action.
I must admit I found the pace of the story a little bit slow, but the story was interesting enough to keep me watching. Despite the lack of dramatic scenes, the well-structured plot and music of the drama together created quite a lot of touching moments throughout the series.
I wouldn't say this is particularly insightful, as most people would find the themes in the drama irrelevant to their daily lives (though I did feel a connection with the sister in the drama), but it still leaves something in my heart. It's just such a mellow yet heartwarming story, so unique and genuine, that you will remember this drama. | Byakuyakou [白夜行]
(Watched)
Halfway through |
Dragon Zakura [ドラゴン桜]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Perhaps I've been numbed by the large amounts of jdrama that I watch, I didn't find Dragon Zakura too much different from usual school dramas. The ideas that the teacher advocate are not as unconventional as I had expected (from reading the reviews). There's just... nothing too memorable about this series. The characters were not developed well (or maybe I'm just biased against Yamapi and Masami) that the audience were not able to emotionally connect to any of them, and honestly, the US education system is way too different from this that it is difficult to relate. The idea that as long as you work hard, you will be able to achieve something is too idealistic to be something coming out from a teacher who teaches the students to so-called "face the reality". I'm not saying you shouldn't work hard, it's just that... for those who have lived life, they know that reality is even harsher than what happens in Dragon Zakura. So it was kinda hard to understand why the students felt so appalled about the teacher's words...
There's probably nothing wrong with the series... it's just that, American audiences would probably find it a bit difficult to relate. | Gokusen [ごくせん]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
It was alright... pretty enjoyable but no surprises. Jun was pretty good in this... I didn't really enjoy the "humor" in this drama. | Gokusen Season 2 [ごくせん２]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
The 1st season was better... maybe because this one kinda just repeats what happened in the first one. But it's still a pretty enjoyable drama...
Gokusen tries to give us some moral lessons, but to be honest I don't think it was executed well, nor did I feel that I gained anything from this series. It was pretty cheesy... not to mention quite predictable as the plot follows the same pattern in every episode.
I skipped through a lot of it though, till the point that I'd say that I "skimmed" through the drama. |
Gokusen Season 3 [ごくせん 3]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
I am still watching this...
Even though I have given Gokusen 2 a low rating previously, watching Gokusen 3 made me realize that sometimes repetitiveness can be extremely comforting and enjoyable. The predictability of the series is something that I do not have to restate, since so many others have pointed that out already, but if you come home from a bad day, watching something that you are familiar with somehow makes you feel better.
Gokusen 3 is very good at that, providing a predictable storyline, yet never failing to induce tears in my eyes when it comes to the touching moments. I suppose this is the magic of Yankumi. | Hanazakari no Kimitachi e [花ざかりの君たちへ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another enjoyable light-hearted drama. This drama made me fall in love with Maki. I also loveee the setting of the drama... the campus is so beautiful and the tone of the drama is so cheerful! | Hotaru no Hikari [ホタルノヒカリ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
I really enjoyed this series.
I'm not very fond of love stories, but this one was very refreshing.
(a little spoilers)
I think it's because the story describes a friend/companion-like relationship between couples, instead of a very romantic one.
In most love stories in which there are 2 male leads, the female lead almost always ends up with the guy that she has romantic feelings for, while the other will be rejected with words like "I've always only thought of you as my best friend, and there's nothing more than that."
But that isn't truly the case in many real life situations... a lot of times, friendship-like relationships work out a lot better than relationships that are based on infatuation. And this is where Hotaru no Hikari distinguishes itself from other love stories -- it does a good job in describing the gradual sprouting of a love seed...
I started off rooting for Makoto, but as the series progressed, I also found myself taking a liking towards Buchou :P |
Jyoou no Kyoushitsu [女王の教室]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
One of the best dramas I've watched. I don't even know where to start when it comes to how good it is... | Kimi wa Petto [きみはペット]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched) | Kurosagi [クロサギ]
Rating: 2/10 (Watched)
Lol.. I don't even know why did I finish this drama. It was so predictable that it wasn't even enjoyable anymore. I don't know what went wrong but Yamapi and Maki had no chemistry in here... and Maki, surprisingly, didn't act very well in this drama. |
Last Friends [ラスト・フレンズ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
As many others have pointed out, this drama "deals" with issues that many other dramas seldom touch on: domestic violence, homosexuality, child abuse and loneliness, but imo, it didn't really say too much on those issues.
As someone who has never experienced or knows anyone who has experienced DV, I fail to understand Sosuke and Michiru's relationship. It simply didn't make sense to me why would Sosuke hit Michiru so DAMN hard if he really loved her from the bottom of her heart. Neither did it make sense to me that Michiru keeps going back to him despite violence so serious that it could threaten her life.
Ueno and Eita's parts were enjoyable to watch though, and I think here is where the story really shines -- when Ueno finally gains recognition as a "person" instead of a "woman". This has spoke out against the social stereotypes in our society, and I felt that it really did make a statement, perhaps even a lasting impact on me.
The ending was also... interesting, to say the least. *spoilers alert!* I would refrain from saying too much, but I really wanted to comment on how unconventional the ending was to me... a relationship that is a combination of friends/husband+wife/lovers/family? Yes! That is how some human relationships can be! Not all human relationships have to be defined and fit nicely into presets of the society! And I love the drama for acknowledging that fact.
Other than that, for those who just enjoy suspense and dramatic plots, I think you will also definitely enjoy this drama. It always kept me up on the chair and I didn't find myself fastforwarding parts of the drama like I usually do.
Oh, and I must also give praise to Ueno Juri and Eita's acting! In fact, I was so impressed by Juri that I went and watched Nodame because of her performance in Last Friends! (I have always been reluctant to watch Nodame due to the hype) She has truly brought the character to life... | Liar Game [ライアーゲーム]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
This is really Death Note-like. It's basically game theory in drama. If you're interested in that kind of stuff, then you'll surely enjoy this series. The male lead was pretty convincing. I actually liked Erika Toda in this one. The message behind the story is really touching, yet it has a lot more potential than what was brought out here. | Long Love Letter [ロング・ラブレター〜漂流教室]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
A drama that left a huge impact on me. |
Long vacation [ロングバケーション]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Didn't think that I would like it (not really a fan of romance stories), but it turned out to be very touching. My heart goes jittery as I witness the love tension between the two main characters. Thanks to the thorough character development, you experience a sense of attachment to the characters. The actors brought out amazing chemistry with never over-the-board acting. It keeps you wishing them a good ending from the bottom of your heart. As a simple love story, this one was perfectly executed. | Lunch no Joou [ランチの女王]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Sorry, Yuko just didn't do it for me.
Instead of charming and energetic, I just found her plain annoying... which made the series quite unbearable for me.
The storyline wasn't helping either... it's quite typical and boring.
I guess the only thing that helped me trudge through 4 episodes are the food scenes. | Medaka [めだか]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Compared to other school dramas, the hardships that the students go through are much more realistic and relatable. I don't know if it's because I've never studied in a Japanese high school, but my high school life resembled Medaka much more closely than GTO/Gokusen. And because of that, Medaka is very watchable, even though it may seem like a typical school drama at first. |
Nobuta wo Produce [野ブタ。をプロデュース]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
My all-time favorite. This drama starts out pretty dark, but towards the end it became so heartwarming and touching. Nobuta wo Produce explores many themes, such as friendship, trust, conformity... that are very easy to relate to. It is meaningful, yet not cheesy at all. | Nodame Cantabile [のだめ カンタビ−レ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
It was a pretty entertaining watch. I was reluctant to watch it due to the hype; in the end, it didn't exactly prove worthwhile, but it was still a fun ride. The humor is pretty good. Nodame wasn't exactly 100% lovable to me, and neither was Chiaki; both of them got on my nerves at times. The premise/lesson of the drama was an interesting topic: passion in music (I think this applies to every type of art actually), but in the end the series only managed to touch on the surface of the topic, and didn't provide much insight, which contributed to the series' failure to achieve a lasting presence in my heart. I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from dramas though... eh? | Orange Days [オレンジデイズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
My friend recommended this drama to me, so I had pretty high expectations of it. It didn't exactly disappoint, but neither did it live up to it.
Basically a cute and cheerful love story. Even though it doesn't delve too much into the friendship aspect, the bond between the characters makes you envy them.
The cast was good. The female lead started off quite annoying though... but I grew to like her as the plot developed.
It didn't leave too big of an impression on me, except the very last scene where they graduated. |
Proposal Daisakusen [プロポーズ大作戦]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I don't get the hype about this. The only redeeming part about the drama is when they described their high school memories, which was borderline touching at best. | Sapuri [サプリ]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
I've only watched 1 episode, but I can already tell that this drama is going to be very crappy. | Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi [空から降る一億の星]
|
Teppan Shoujo Akane [鉄板少女アカネ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
As a light-hearted drama, it's pretty good. Despite its repetitive plot, it had its touching moments... and I liked how the story was always full of hope and energy!
The food was excellent eye-candy, too. (Made me go get okonomiyaki :P)
Maki was really good here. ^_^ | Watashitachi no kyokasho [わたしたちの教科書]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Drama about school bullying... perhaps due to the fact that I haven't witnessed/experienced bullying in school before, it didn't leave too much of an impression on me, despite the interesting storyline. The structure of the plot was amazing though... it keeps you guessing and it always catches you off-guard.
I have a feeling that the drama was intended to explore the blurry line between "right" and "wrong"... the plot conveyed it well, but somehow it's missing something that really touches your heart. | Yama Onna Kabe Onna [山おんな壁おんな]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
It was pretty entertaining... nothing too remarkable though.
I never liked Ito Misaki, but she was okay here. Fukada Kyoko was the cutest though!
The 2nd half was more enjoyable than the 1st. I suppose that suggets that I enjoy watching romance more than boob jokes? |
Zettai Kareshi [絶対彼氏]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched) | | |
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