The New Official J-Drama Thread!

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al kusanagi
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The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

So, yeah, I've been watching a lot of J-dramas lately so I can keep my Japanese skills up while stuck out here in the country. I'm really digging on Buzzer Beat now, although half the time I want to pimp-slap Naoki for being such an absolute wuss. Nodame Cantabile was awesome and I can't wait for the upcoming Nodame movies. And Last Friends has me having slightly disturbing dreams involving Juri Ueno's butch lesbian character making out with Yossie from the Mr. Moonlight PV...
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by nihonjin_berryz »

I know this isn't Japanese Drama. But has anyone started watching Lady Castle/My Fair Lady/ Taking Care of the young lady? It stars the main actress of Coffee Prince. Do you enjoy watching it?
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Melon »

[quote name='Monkeypretzels' post='68117' date='Aug 30 2009, 12:06 AM']I know this isn't Japanese Drama. But has anyone started watching Lady Castle/My Fair Lady/ Taking Care of the young lady? It stars the main actress of Coffee Prince. Do you enjoy watching it?[/quote]



Oh, I liked Coffee Prince, I'll definitely check this out. What's it about? From the title I presume a wild girl is going to be groomed into a cultured girl?



Not J-drama, but I saw a Japanese film yesterday called "Returner". It's pretty good time travel alien yakuza fun. The last J-drama I watched was Nodame Contabile, and I have to agree with Al. It's awesome.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Returner's a classic. It's like Terminator meets ET with a healthy dose of Hong Kong action. Plus, Mizuguchi is the coolest, most evil villain ever. It's especially amusing that his actor usually plays kind, loving fathers.



I finished Last Friends and I'm not sure what to think. It's good, but extremely draining. I was literally yelling at the TV half the time over the decisions the characters make in it, especially when it came to Michiru. She was like a retarded puppy. You want to protect her, but after the tenth time she wanders out into traffic you're like "Screw it. I'll just get a new dog."
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Ap2000 »

I loved the first Nodame Cantablie anime season, but the second one (Paris-hen) was horribly boring.

Though I'm absolutely not into asian drama series... does the drama series continue where the first season ends ? (basically shortly before they both go to Europe)
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

The TV drama ends with them getting ready to go to Europe, then there are two 2 hour TV specials about them in Paris. This winter they're releasing two Nodame theatrical movies, which also take place in Europe.



And while I haven't seen the anime, it seems that people who have seen both say the drama is actually better. Besides, real life Juri and Asami Mizukawa are better than cartoon girls.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Still digging on Buzzer Beat and just started Mop Girl. Man, that's some wacky stuff. I'm wondering what to check out after I finish that. Maybe the first season of Gokusen (since the rest of it sucked) or series six of 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei.



I've also decided that Keiko Kitagawa will be Mrs. Al someday. Me and that slightly neurotic hikkikomori-cutie were made for each other.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

I stay away from all teacher dramas. They're all too similar. Besides, once you've seen the best of them, GTO, why bother with the rest?! That goes for cop dramas, too. I quit them after watching "Odoru Daisousasen"
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Still watching Mop Girl and I just love how they stick my Keiko into as much fetish gear as possible. Up to episode 8 so far and we've already had standard nerdy otaku-girl Momoko, smart pantsuit Momoko, kimono Momoko, China dress Momoko, super spy trenchcoat Momoko, muscle girl Momoko, maid Momoko, school girl Momoko (with pigtails and glasses), kindergarten loli Momoko, and lesbian-bait Momoko. Probably another half dozen I've missed as well. Not to mention the show is also wacky as hell and always manages to throw in a bizarre twist at the end.



I think there's only one more Keiko drama I'm missing, but I forgot the name. Something about a school by the seaside where she plays one of the teachers.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='68832' date='Sep 12 2009, 09:08 PM']Still watching Mop Girl and I just love how they stick my Keiko into as much fetish gear as possible. Up to episode 8 so far and we've already had standard nerdy otaku-girl Momoko, smart pantsuit Momoko, kimono Momoko, China dress Momoko, super spy trenchcoat Momoko, muscle girl Momoko, maid Momoko, school girl Momoko (with pigtails and glasses), kindergarten loli Momoko, and lesbian-bait Momoko. Probably another half dozen I've missed as well. Not to mention the show is also wacky as hell and always manages to throw in a bizarre twist at the end.



I think there's only one more Keiko drama I'm missing, but I forgot the name. Something about a school by the seaside where she plays one of the teachers.[/quote]



Yeah, Umi to Taiyou no Kyoshitsu. I haven't watched it, but I heard it was her first major role, and by major I mean in the primetime "gekku" spot.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. Thanks! I'll have to try and track it down. Hopefully Veoh's got it. I much prefer getting stuff straight from there than torrenting it since my asshole provider has their routers locked so you can't forward the ports.



Just finished Buzzer Beat episode 9. Damn, that drama is just designed to be frustrating. Riko has the worst timing and luck ever, Naoki is a giant pussy, that skuzzy dude needs to stay the hell away from my Sailor Venus, and there ain't nothing wrong with Natsuki that some good deep-dickin' wouldn't take care of (of course, where Yama-pi's concerned he'd actually have to have a penis to begin with). Oh yes, and Mai is awesome.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Finished up Mop Girl. What a fun, wacky little series, but now I'm really interested in just what Momoko could do with her powers given a few years of practice.



Just started the live action version of Jigoku Shojo. It's pretty much a blatant ripoff of Skyhigh, but that's fine since Skyhigh is by far my favorite horror drama and live-action manga adaptation. Instead of super sexy Yumiko Shaku helping the souls of the dead take revenge on those who wronged them, you've got super adorable Sayuri Iwata taking the souls of the living to take revenge on those who wronged them. It also has Sayaa Irie, if you're into that kind of thing. I love how in her first full episode her father tell her to drink milk "because it'll make your boobs bigger."
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Melon »

In my depressed state, I decided to rewatch Nodame Canabile. Then I decided to try the first episode of Hanakimi. Aaargh, that was pure crap.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

Kind of a tangent, but do you ever wonder how much money Yoko Kamio the manga artist and writer has made off of her 1992 work "Hana Yori Dango" from its various incarnations in China (Taiwan), Japan, and Korea. It's pretty much blown up bigtime whenever and where ever it was released. I wonder if she ever imagined her little Cinderella-like manga would have become this huge.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Melon »

[quote name='Tallgeese' post='69068' date='Sep 18 2009, 07:49 PM']I wonder if she ever imagined her little Cinderella-like manga would have become this huge.[/quote]



I don't know if she thought it'd be huge, but the basic premise dictated it always would be. You were spot on with the Cinderella comment, because I've always thought of it as almost the perfect evolution of Cinderella. We have "fairy godmothers" in the form of the other F3. We have the "evil mother-in-law". We have the "ugly stepsisters" too. But most of all, it has a strong willed protagonist and love interest. As a writer, the "opposite attract" meme is not only the most successful, but also the most fun to read/write. I couldn't imagine it NOT being successful, even if a hacked up version was made in America. In fact, if they hacked out the ridiculous anmesia arc it'd make the story better. Nearly every shoujo manga ever made is going to follow the same tenants, but HYD utilizes them better than most. And as a personal observation, almost every popular female story is based in a fairytale.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

I just finished Buzzer Beat. It kind of lagged in the 2nd half. They seemed to be searching for more stuff to separate Naoki and Riko, but you still knew how it was gonna end. And the last ep seemed really rushed in terms of pacing. Still, I loved the Yama P and Keiko couple. They must do another show together!



Next drama season (now until the end of the year) looks kind of weak. There's nothing that really stands out for me.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Yeah, there's nothing beyond the current Juri Ueno mini-series that has me interested in the upcoming season.



I'm actually surprised the Coach in BB turned out to be a genuinely nice guy. I was just waiting for him to try and force himself on Riko or screw Naoki over somehow.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

They should have paired up the coach with Naoki's older sister... oh wait she was married. His mom was pretty nice-looking, though. LOL!
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Yeah, towards the last episode, I thought they'd pull some thing where his mom finally goes to one of his games and meets the coach.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

[quote name='Petit Melon' post='69070' date='Sep 18 2009, 10:46 PM'][quote name='Tallgeese' post='69068' date='Sep 18 2009, 07:49 PM']I wonder if she ever imagined her little Cinderella-like manga would have become this huge.[/quote]



I don't know if she thought it'd be huge, but the basic premise dictated it always would be. You were spot on with the Cinderella comment, because I've always thought of it as almost the perfect evolution of Cinderella. We have "fairy godmothers" in the form of the other F3. We have the "evil mother-in-law". We have the "ugly stepsisters" too. But most of all, it has a strong willed protagonist and love interest. As a writer, the "opposite attract" meme is not only the most successful, but also the most fun to read/write. I couldn't imagine it NOT being successful, even if a hacked up version was made in America. In fact, if they hacked out the ridiculous anmesia arc it'd make the story better. Nearly every shoujo manga ever made is going to follow the same tenants, but HYD utilizes them better than most. And as a personal observation, almost every popular female story is based in a fairytale.

[/quote]



I agree. I think it's the best modern-day interpretation of Cinderella ever.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by kitaoji »

I... uh, haven't watched Hana Yori Dango in any of its incarnations.



But I finished Orthros no Inu last night! It was (as they always say) much better in the beginning. Then it got cheesy. The villain really needed to be more fleshed out, and less creepy.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

Just started the Korean vers. of HYD. It's not too bad. I dunno why some people get all bent out of shape about HYD remakes. None of them have ever really been 100% faithful to the manga itself. They're all basically interpretations of the original. I think as long as you have the plucky poor heroine, F4, and the wicked mother you're good to go. The rest is negotiable.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

I'm liking "My Girl" with Aiba (of Arashi) so far. The little girl in it is quite adorable. The drama seems to have a lot more flashbacks than the manga.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by thamychan »

I'm still finishing the jdramas from last season but I'll try to follow my girl and shokojo seira. I hope there will be a really good drama by the way, fall is always such a boring period for jdramas...
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by anpanman »

I watched Fumochitai. It's based on the novel by Yamasaki Toyoko. And Yamasaki wrote that novel with inspiration of Seijima Ryuzo.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Tallgeese »

I hope a torrent or stream for Shokojo Seira gets released soon. It's def. on my watch list. Ep 2 of My Girl wasn't bad. They're definitely fleshing out some things that get skipped over quickly in the manga. BTW, the actual intro focuses a lot on Yoko which leads me to believe we'll see a lot more flashback scenes (although there wasn't much here in this episode).
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by al kusanagi »

Three words: Live action K-on.



It could be really, really good, or really, really bad.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Joel »

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='70431' date='Oct 20 2009, 11:28 AM']Three words: Live action K-on.



It could be really, really good, or really, really bad.[/quote]



OMG. Please don't let this be ruined! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by anpanman »

Tokyo Dogs was pretty interesting.
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Re: The New Official J-Drama Thread!

Post by Fina »

Is anyone watching JIN? It's my favorite this season so far. It has an interesting twist on the going-back-in-time cliche, and I really like the characters. Plus it's interesting to see how everyone reacts to modern day medicine. However it can creep me the heeeck out. Take in example, fetus tumor ahhhhh. It's a really cool idea, but when they first showed it I think I literally gasped. And then it got a little more fake looking.



I've also watched the first episode of My Girl. It's cute but the plot seems overdone. Even though the plots are pretty different, I'm getting flashbacks to Bara no nai Hanaya. Maybe it's all the Johnnys. Tokyo Dogs got a REALLY good rating so I think I'll watch that next.
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