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Q4R #019: Oh, the drama!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

This week's Q4R is all about dramas!

(Beware of long post. Or rather, ENJOY THIS LONG POST!)
  • What do you think about JDramas, you have any favorites?
  • Do you watch any doramas? Which one is your favourite?
  • What are your favorite Japanese and Korean dramas?
Well to be honest, I've not watched a lot of Japanese dramas recently, so off the top of my head, here are some of my favorites over the years.

[Pride]
Starring: Kimura Takuya, Takeuchi Yuko



I watched this when I was 15? I don't really remember that well, but it was one of the most romantic dramas I have ever watched. It is heart-wrenching, brings you all over the place emotionally (just when you think they are happily together, DUN DUN DUNNNNN SOMETHING HAPPENS!), and the two of them look so so good together.

Everything about this drama can be summarized in one word: pretty. Even the sex is pretty. Watch it and you'll know what I mean.

There's a bit of humor here and there in the drama too, so it's not an entirely depressing affair.

If you're the kind looking for something impossibly romantic and sad and yet happy at the same time, then this is for you.

I realize I should include some sort of synopsis so here's my version of the drama (go google it for a more correct version). A guy called Haru meets this girl called Aki. Aki has some boyfriend who is overseas (or something) and she is waiting for him to come back (without having any other boyfriend during the wait). Haru has this "game" of sorts with her where they agree to date and immediately break up when (and if) Aki's boyfriend comes back.

Yeah that's really all you need to know. Everything else I can say will be spoilertastic.

[Nodame Cantabile]
Starring: Tamaki Hiroshi, Ueno Juri



This drama is as you can see, all about orchestras and stuff. Nodame is a girl who has amazing talent in playing the piano, yet is rather careless with the way she plays it. Chiaki finds out about her talent and wants to nurture her or something. I forgot. But Chiaki wants to be a conductor. And Chiaki is a guy, yes.

Nodame Cantabile is a really funny and wacky show that gets all serious suddenly and then totally crazy again the next moment. It's really one of the most interesting Jdramas you can watch - there's never really a dull moment. Not necessarily the most romantic, but the lovey dovey parts are kind of cute too. Perfect if you want some romance, but not the serious life-or-death kind, and if you want to laugh a whole bunch.

[Boku dake no Madonna]
Starring: Takizawa Hideaki, Hasegawa Kyoko



Kyon (I think) is an architecture student living alone in Tokyo (I think). One night, he comes back to his rented apartment to find a mysterious and pretty woman sleeping on his bed. He darts into his bathroom (I think) and wonders whether she's a ghost. He comes back out and she's gone.

And yes, she does come back eventually and she's spying on her ex who is living directly opposite Kyon's apartment and then Kyon falls in love with her bla bla bla.

I think the main charm of this drama is how adorable Takki is and how strange Kyoko is. It's like a really mismatched pair that you're not sure should go together, and you just have to keep watching just to know what happens in the end.

Pretty funny, though nowhere close to Nodame Cantabile. Pretty romantic, though nowhere close to Pride. It's sort of like a... safe show?

Worth watching because you're bound to feel good after watching this. But it's not life-changing for sure.

[Hachimitsu to Clover aka Honey and Clover]
Starring: Narumi Riko, Ikuta Toma, Mukai Osamu, Narimiya Hiroki, Harada Natsuki



Basically about a bunch of art students chasing their dreams and falling in love with each other.

I know a lot of people would probably call this drama boring, but it's really quite a strong storyline with a pretty stellar cast. There's also enough humor scattered throughout the drama so it's really not all that bad.

It's admittedly not one of the fastest moving dramas around, nor is it one of the most romantic or funny, but it definitely ranks really high in the "looks" department. The cast is good looking, the setting is really gorgeous, and there's always a sort of nostalgic feel about the whole show. It's sort of like a modern day artsy short story, where everything just feels too perfect to be true.

You'd walk away from this drama feeling like you've lived out a really elaborate dream, but as time passes, the dream slips away and you really don't remember quite a lot of it. It's still very very beautiful and worth the time to watch and enjoy.

[Maou]
Starring: Ohno Satoshi, Ikuta Toma



A lawyer tries to kill an investigator's (is that what Ikuta is?) family and friends, making sure the investigators feels the full extent of loss and suffering before the investigator himself gets killed. Yet the lawyer is never found out.

The lawyer is doing this because the investigator accidentally killed the lawyer's brother years ago, yet got away with it because his father paid someone off.

Well honestly, the story is much better than what I just wrote. It's far too complex and clever to summarize correctly. If you're looking for suspense, mystery and drama, this is the perfect show for you. You'd be blown away by the amazing storyline, very strong acting and how darned intelligent it is.

Well except for the Tarot card gasping girl, which is just lame but if you can ignore that then it's a really great show.

[Seigi no Mikata (2008)]
Starring: Yamada Yuu, Shida Mirai, Mukai Osamu



A perfect older sister who is really an evil woman deep inside tortures her younger sister. However, no one notices anything abnormal about the older sister because all the evil she does (to others) end up benefiting those people, which causes people to call her "Seigi no Mikata", meaning ally of justice.

This drama is seriously all for the laughs. You'll laugh at how the younger sister Yoko is so pitiful and all the pain she has to go through. You'll laugh at how ridiculous bitchy and unreasonable the older sister Makiko is. And you'll swoon at how handsome Mukai Osamu is.

What else does one need?

---

I've watched way less Kdramas than Jdramas so I'm not really who you should about the matter. But off the top of my head, a few good ones I remember are Full House, My Lovely Sam Soon, Which star did you come from?, Coffee Prince and Goong.
  • omg Raid do you watch Japanese dramas? What are some of your favourite actors and actresses? I like Hayami Mokomichi, Inoue Mao and Horikita Maki. :D
I personally think Kimura Takuya is deserving of his "King of Jdrama" title, and I think the one to replace him will be Ikuta Toma.

But my favorite is still Mukai Osamu.



HOW CAN ANYONE LOOK SO PERFECT? And he's a nice guy and he looks awesome in glasses and he has a deep voice and he's tall and GUH he's seriously my favorite male in Japan right now.

As for actresses, Horikita Maki has very strong acting, but in terms of acting my favorite has probably got to be Aoi Yuu.

But being the superficial whore I am, my favorite has got to be her...



Eikura Nana.

GUH. TOO. PRETTY.

I've not even watched a single show with her in it!
  • Thoughts on Atashinchi no Danshi?


I have not watched it to be honest, and I don't really intend to. I went to read the synopsis of it though, here it is:

These days, the term "homeless" has taken on new meaning. There are youths referred to as "net cafe refugees," who have neither a job nor a place to live, but who find themselves hopping around internet cafes. One such refugee is a 20-year-old girl named Chisato, who lost her mother at a young age due to sickness. She spent her youth trying to escape from the huge debt her father left her, and her battle with the repossessors unfolded every night. However, her life changed after meeting one man named Shinzo, changing her views on the meaning of "family." Shinzo comes from a rich family tracing back to the Edo period, and he adopted six good-looking sons with the hope of one becoming his successor, but all of them have strange personalities. Shinzo promises to free Chisato from her debt if she marries him and becomes the mother of his sons. However, a life with these six guys under one roof will not go smoothly...

Wha? So random rich guy picks up homeless girl to be his wife and adopts handsome sons.

This sounds like a seriously ghey show to me. Like this dude has a serious daddy complex and marrying a woman whom he knows he has immense power over ("DO. NOT. FUCK. ME. WOMAN.") means he has a good cover yet doesn't have to do the nasty bits.

Come to think of it, I probably should be watching this show because it really does sounds right up my alley. Someone give me a screencap of Osamu being spanked by the father (preferably bottomless) and I'll be right on it.
  • Did you like (or even watch) Boys Before Flowers?


If you're talking about Hana Yori Dango (with Matsujun and Inoue Mao) then yes, I did watch it. Both seasons in fact. The storyline was sort of expected, probably because I've watched the Taiwanese version before (back in 2001).



But if you're talking about the Korean one (with Lee Minwoo and all those other nonsense) then no, I've not watched it. Firstly because I've already watched 4 whole seasons of it (2 Japanese 2 Taiwanese) and the thought of watching the same storyline yet again makes me hurl.

That and the fact that I really don't have the time and energy to learn to accept that gross hairstyle that Domyouji (or Goo Junpyo) sports. Seriously, he'd look better bald.
  • not asking to pressure, more for curiosity. But when will q4r's be stable again?

    keep working hard at work though!
As you can see, I'm trying to get Q4Rs to be sort of stable again these past few weeks by preparing the posts in advance. My internship ends on 25th September (6 more weeks!), so it'll probably be back to normal by then. I'm really trying my best to keep up with the insane amounts of questions I receive (and I'm really glad and touched that you guys still care enough to give me questions!) so I will keep answering them till no one wants to ask me any more.

But guys, seriously, comment on my posts and let me know you guys are still here reading. I feel kind of schizo posting with no one telling me what they think about my posts!

That said, if you do have a question for me, do drop me a comment using the button below! :D

(And yes, you should know that drama-related questions won't be answered for a LOOOONG LOOONG time to come.)

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