Much like the way a good director can be a gauge for how much you may like/dislike a film, I think screenwriters can be the same for doramas.
So, who is yours?
I have been really happy with Eriko Kitagawa's work.
Here's her record according to the drama wiki:
* Tatta Hitotsu no Koi (NTV, 2006)
* Orange Days (TBS, 2004)
* Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi (Fuji TV, 2002)
* Love Story (TBS, 2001)
* Beautiful Life (TBS, 2000)
* Over Time (Fuji TV, 1999)
* Saigo no koi (TBS, 1998)
* Long Vacation (Fuji TV, 1996)
* Aishiteiru to Ittekure (TBS, 1995)
* Kimi to Ita Natsu (Fuji TV, 1994)
* Asunaro Hakusho (Fuji TV, 1993)
* Sono Toki, Heart wa Nusumareta (Fuji TV, 1992)
Who's Your Favorite Screenwriter?
-
marienella_m
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Dec 15th, '04, 16:52
my favorites jdrama writers are:
Nozawa Hisashi{Koori no Sekai, Sleeping Forest)
Yukawa Kazuhiko(Joou no Kyoshitsu, Majo no Joken)
Kizara Izumi(Suika, Nobuta wo Produce)
Nojima Shinji(Kou Kou Kyoshi, recently Bara no nai Hanaya)
for Korean dramas, i look for the works of:
Lee Kyung Hee(MISA, Thank You)
Hong Sisters ( Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran), (Delightful Girl Chunhyang)
Kim Young Hyun(Jewel in the Palace)
Jung Hyung Soo(Damo, Jumong)
Nozawa Hisashi{Koori no Sekai, Sleeping Forest)
Yukawa Kazuhiko(Joou no Kyoshitsu, Majo no Joken)
Kizara Izumi(Suika, Nobuta wo Produce)
Nojima Shinji(Kou Kou Kyoshi, recently Bara no nai Hanaya)
for Korean dramas, i look for the works of:
Lee Kyung Hee(MISA, Thank You)
Hong Sisters ( Hong Jung Eun and Hong Mi Ran), (Delightful Girl Chunhyang)
Kim Young Hyun(Jewel in the Palace)
Jung Hyung Soo(Damo, Jumong)
Last edited by marienella_m on Feb 24th, '08, 22:09, edited 1 time in total.
The strange thing about screenwriting is that they can no longer take full credit for their works, as many of the 2000s dramas are based on previous writings (novels, manga/anime, etc.) It isn't like what screenwriting used to be during the 1980s and 1990s when the screenwriter wrote the entire screenplay from scratch!
With that, my favorite screenwriter is Nojima Shinji. This guy's amazing! He wrote Kimi ga Uso wo Tsuita as an amateur while working at a restaurant. He was basically the gift to Fuji TV, and made Fuji TV THE trendy drama factory of Japan throughout the 1990s. With the manga/novel factory going on right now in dramas, Nojima-san has faded out which is unfortunate. To turn a manga into a live TV drama - I seriously think it doesn't take that much talent to do screenwriting today. You have the idols thrown in along with the adapted work - and that seems to be all that's needed.
Other writers that have faded out:
Okada Yoshikazu - This guy relied TOO MUCH on Churasan. All three of his ''shin'' or ''motto'' releases on this great series SUCKS!!!! His other series like Mada Koi wa Hajimaranai were also great, but he has produced NOTHING that can compare to these screenplays.
Mizuhashi Fumie - She's another screenwriter who has suffered from the manga/idol factory. Imoto Yo and Itsuka Mata Aeru are classic stories.
In all, I like writing storylines IN THE STUDIO - and FROM SCRATCH! Those are the screenwriters I respect.
--- groink
edit - correction on Shinji's name
With that, my favorite screenwriter is Nojima Shinji. This guy's amazing! He wrote Kimi ga Uso wo Tsuita as an amateur while working at a restaurant. He was basically the gift to Fuji TV, and made Fuji TV THE trendy drama factory of Japan throughout the 1990s. With the manga/novel factory going on right now in dramas, Nojima-san has faded out which is unfortunate. To turn a manga into a live TV drama - I seriously think it doesn't take that much talent to do screenwriting today. You have the idols thrown in along with the adapted work - and that seems to be all that's needed.
Other writers that have faded out:
Okada Yoshikazu - This guy relied TOO MUCH on Churasan. All three of his ''shin'' or ''motto'' releases on this great series SUCKS!!!! His other series like Mada Koi wa Hajimaranai were also great, but he has produced NOTHING that can compare to these screenplays.
Mizuhashi Fumie - She's another screenwriter who has suffered from the manga/idol factory. Imoto Yo and Itsuka Mata Aeru are classic stories.
In all, I like writing storylines IN THE STUDIO - and FROM SCRATCH! Those are the screenwriters I respect.
--- groink
edit - correction on Shinji's name
Last edited by groink on Feb 24th, '08, 23:28, edited 1 time in total.
Oh, cooll, the three Yukawa Kazuhiko shows I've seen I absolutely loved! GTO, Oyaji and Otousan. I will definitely look for more of his stuff! This theory may be working out 
---
Groink, looks like you meant Nojima Shinji...but that you can remember that much of a screrenwriters name means something. Since you two both recommend him I'll try to get my hands on something of his too. Looks like Kimi ga Uso o Tsuita was never on the tracker
Too bad, I think first works are always interesting to watch.
Hey actually I've seen Kou Kou Kyoushi. I never admitted to it but I thought it was great.
---
Groink, looks like you meant Nojima Shinji...but that you can remember that much of a screrenwriters name means something. Since you two both recommend him I'll try to get my hands on something of his too. Looks like Kimi ga Uso o Tsuita was never on the tracker
Too bad, I think first works are always interesting to watch.Hey actually I've seen Kou Kou Kyoushi. I never admitted to it but I thought it was great.
-
marienella_m
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Dec 15th, '04, 16:52
i usually choose dramas based on the writers or the combination of producer+writer. i like nojima's love stories because they often have unique plots that focus on difficult/painful love(Kono yo no Hate, KKK '93 & '03 and now Bara no nai Hanaya). nozawa was a master of mystery/dark dramas, too bad he's gone. yukawa's dramas have thought provoking themes(GTO, Joou) and he loves to write unconventional family dramas(Dare Yori Mama, Oyaji). Kizara(screen name of a male & female writing duo from Hyogo) wrote the best teen drama ive seen, nobuta wo produce. the follow-up drama is also good, sexy voice and robo, but their best work that won a lot of awards for screenplay is suika.
yukawa's dramas have thought provoking themes(GTO, Joou) and he loves to write unconventional family dramas(Dare Yori Mama, Oyaji). Kizara(screen name of a male & female writing duo from Hyogo) wrote the best teen drama ive seen, nobuta wo produce. the follow-up drama is also good, sexy voice and robo, but their best work that won a lot of awards for screenplay is suika.Nojima Shinji and Kitagawa Eriko attracted my attention, but they're not my faves^^
I have to say, that Nojima Shinji is the #1 writer who has written WEIRDEST stories ever!!^.^ Most of his dramas are dark, and ...well, weird x) And his dramas are really not my cup of tea....only 1-2 of them, that I actually like!
Just some comments on the dramas' plots he wrote, that I've watched:
Miseinen [Under Age] (1995) - Issei Ishida, Takashi Sorimachi, Shingo Katori, Ayumi Hamasaki
I almost dozed off in the first 6 episodes, if not because of Shingo. Although I have to say that the ending of episode 10, was a perfect scene, i cried my eyes out everytime i re-watched that scene x) Really....a very slow-paced dorama for me......
Seikimatsu no Uta [The Last Song] (1998) - Yutaka Takenouchi, Maki Sakai, Yoshino Kimura
Just plain weird, weird and weird. The set is in a small village. There's a weird character, that is in a human-shape, but acts like a pet animal. There's a love story between human and ghost. A woman which always stays home, and cannot stand the sunshine, she'll die right away if she goes outside. And some other weird stuffs. What makes me goes thru the whole thing are Takenouchi Yutaka, and the half-human half-pet animal character x)
Strawberry on Shortcake (2001) - Hideaki Takizawa, Kyoko Fukada
I dont like it. Nuff said.
PRIDE - Kimura Takuya, Takeuchi Yuko, Ichikawa Somegoro
I'm surprised that this one is very light-hearted. But the story is just too common. It was good, but it just didn't strike me, I guess.
The 2 which I really LOVE are:
Golden Bowl (2002) - Kaneshiro Takeshi, Kuroki Hitomi
Perfect, perfect, and just plain purrrrfect!!!! LOVE IT!!! Although, it is adapted from a manga, and was not Nojima's original piece...but I still appreciate it as one of his work....its not an easy task to make a good adaptation ^_^
Bara no nai Hanaya (2008) - Katori Shingo, Takeuchi Yuko
I'm surprised I'm liking this one alot, alot. I had no expectation whatsoever on this drama when I first heard about it. It is still on episode 6, but I'm loving it very much already. Hope the good and the pace stay still to the end. The genre of the story is like a mix of light-hearted romance, suspense mystery and weird/bizarre like Seikimatsu no Uta^^
Despite his weird scripts, I still appreciate all of his bizarre works...and he frequently gets awards even from dramas I dislike...so he must have great talent^^
As for Kitagawa Eriko, there were Asunaro Hakusho, Aishiteiru to Itte kure, Long Vacation, Saigo no Koi, Over Time, Beautiful Life, Love Story, Sorakara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi, Orange Days. These are all some of Kitagawa's famous masterpieces. Despite that most of her works have became high-rated dramas, most popular among Japanese viewers, and her works have become favorites of many J-drama fans, she's NOT even one of my Top 3^^ Actually, Long Vacation and Orange Days are ones of the top on my list!!^^ but, since the rest are futsu for me....so I cant say, she's one of my fave.
Beautiful Life was a good quality dorama, indeed. But there's just something with this dorama that just doesnt click for me^^; While Sorakara have a fabulous ending which made me cried my eyes out, the first 6 episodes are slow-paced and boring for me....i think Kitagawa is nowhere near Nozawa Hisashi, in writing suspense mystery drama, or maybe this mystery story of hers, just didnt liven up to my expectation(after watching Nozawa's dramas!)...but the script of Sorakara has received an award, so it must be real good! My personal taste just dont get, where's the beauty of the story, i guess....
Getting on to my TOP THREE Japanese Screenwriters!
#3 is Yoshida Noriko
My MOST favorite ROMANTIC COMEDY writer!! I adore all of her love comedy works!!! They're ALL just PERFECT, in my eyes! And I can re-watch them, over and over and over without getting tired of it!!!^o^
What has amazed me, is how she makes such a simple love story become an -excellent hillarious and amazingly enjoyable to watch- entertainment!! The words, the dialogues, the scenes, the characters are just so memorable....so, even though the global story is very, very simple....but the detailed stuffs is really interesting to me...(FYI, that's what I found lacking in Beautiful Life).
Yoshida Noriko's famous Rikon/Kekkon Trilogy:
NARITA RIKON - Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Asaka Seto, Hiroshi Abe, Eri Fukatsu
Every episode has it's own great story and great scenes. The story is actually a very simple one, but somehow they can develop the simple story to a great one! I love how Ichiro and Yuko tried to make up and being all nice to each other, on one episode, but in the end of each episode...there must be something that will break them off again. I read reviews that this dorama has too many quarelling and bickering scenes....NOT for me. I think there are no unnecessary quarelling scenes, every quarelling scenes have good reasons and plus, Ichiro and Yuko bicker in a very funny way. So, I enjoyed their bickering scenes. Makes me laugh!^^ And, it's not like all they do is bicker in the house...they have their calm moments too, and they talk just like friends would talk to each other. I also love the fact that they actually care for each other and still love each other, but too proud to admit it!^^ Overall, this is one of my favorite drama. A great divorce story!
OMIAI KEKKON - Takako Matsu, Yusuke Santamaria, Yousuke Kubozuka
It was an EXCELLENT drama! I really enjoyed it. I love it. The story was just so funny! Matsu Takako was just adorable and superb!! She portrayed Setsuko so funny!
Storywise, I would really give this a 9! But, Yusuke Santamaria made it worth only 8.5 >_< I dunno what's on the producers mind casting him as the main lead...he doesn't have any screen presence at all...
DEKICHATTA KEKKON - Yutaka Takenouchi, Ryoko Hirosue, Hiroshi Abe, Yuriko Ishida, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Another one of the BEST dorama! A perfect mixture of ridiculous comedy and heart-touching drama. Everything is just so simple! It's not about those two persons in different worlds fall in love, but this is about ordinary and common 2 persons, which we normally find in our life, not in love, facing problems, which eventually led them gradually to be in love^^ I mean, Ryunosuke is such a simple guy and Chiyo is also a simple girl, then they encounter these problems, which looks pretty simple to solve, but everything becomes so complicated in the end...because...well, that's life!!
The only reason that Noriko Yoshida is my #3 is because I think, writing a love comedy, is an easier thing to do, compared to writing mystery or detective stories like the Top Two below ^-^
#2 is Nozawa Hisashi
EXCELLENT mystery scriptwriter! I love both of his amazing masterpieces, Sleeping Forest and Ice World. Wonderful!! Its really amazing how he can made separate puzzles, seems like totally, unrelated things....becomes related as time goes by, slowly....then those separated puzzles slowly become one in the end, and becomes one clear picture, which is the answer to all the questions since the beginning of the story.
Sleeping Forest - Takuya Kimura, Miho Nakayama, Toru Nakamura
Great suspense dorama! The first 5 episodes are just magnificent. They are intenseful and exciting. Starting episode 6, when it becomes a little more clearer who Naoki really is, the intense atmosphere loosened, but it was replaced with many, many beautiful and touching scenes which left such deep impression. I admit, there are some boring scenes, but the impressive scenes over-shadowed it. The climax didn't really go as exciting as Ice World's climax, but it's enough that it made me feel goosebumps^^ However, the murderer was not very hard to guess, I can already guess who the murderer is around episode 6-7^^ Nevertheless, this dorama really deserves a 9. Such a magnificent drama.
Ice World - Yutaka Takenouchi, Nanako Matsushima, Toru Nakamura, Yuki Uchida
This is a VERY cool and superb drama. The story can really entice you from the beginning, the intense kept going on from episode 1 to the last episode, almost no boring scenes. Moreover, the climax in the last episode, would really satisfy you. The drama carry a heavy depth.
If only I can get "Nemurenu Yoru wo Daite" on my hands, another Nozawa Hisashi's piece.
MY #1 is and will always be, MITANI KOKI
He's the KING OF COMEDY! haha...I love this ojisan! His works and also, his personality. He might be the only scriptwriter who showed his face the most on TV screens, among other writers (probably because he's also a director). He's really a funny guy, in person!
The reason he is my #1, is because I love comedy more than serious stories. I love almost all of his works I've seen, so far. And I just really admire his clever, brilliant jokes, he has his own significant type of jokes, that when you watch the funny scene, you just know that its just sooooooooo -Mitani Koki- funny/joke type!!^.^
Interesting enough, not only comedy, but he's also good with detective stories. He has received Best Script awards twice, for his Detective Furuhata Ninzaburou drama series, and proven that it was a big successful drama! I bought one of Furuhata novel series written by Mitani....and it is gooood! I love it!
Another worth to mention is, Ai Kotoba wa Yuuki [Password of Love is Courage]. Also an award-winning dorama, including Best Script award. Starring Yakusho Koji, Katori Shingo, Suzuki Kyoka, and Tanaka Kunie. The comedy really cracked me up, big time....esp. the first few episodes, were just sooooo funny! I have to say, the story is really original, fresh and uncommon, not really easy to think of, sets in a small village surrounds by mountains and forests. Tanaka Kunie as the village head, Kyoka Suzuki as the innocent village head's daughter, Shingo Katori as the village boy who just came back from the big city had a crush on the village head's daughter, and Koji Yakusho as the fake lawyer(really, an actor) came from Tokyo, cheated the whole villagers, asked by Shingo and Tanaka to save the village.
One of Mitani's masterpiece was "Shinsengumi!". Also won the Best Script award, Mitani has successfully created an excellent adaptation script to the real legendary history. He made the drama watchable for all ages and genders, due to the lightness.
But even with the comedy, still.. he managed to make it as seriously as it is, in adapting a Japanese most memorable history, and not to let down the historical purists.
What made this drama good was the mixture contents of it.....touching brotherhood, friendship moments, also many hillarious moments, and also, the love stories, in a perfect composition for a taiga drama, not too many, not too less....I love all the romantic scenes, its not the wishy-washy type, fits for the taiga theme, but still touching and sweet! One of Mitani's most excellent work besides Furuhata, IMHO.
There was also Warai no Daigaku(starring Yakusho Koji and Inagaki Goro), how 90% of the movie is only about 2 persons' dialogues in a room yet making it as a hillarious comedy and very interesting, is just EXCELLENT! You have to watch it yourself to believe it!^_~
Another excellent movie written and directed by Mitani Koki, was Rajio no Jikan [Welcome Back Mr. McDonald], starring Karasawa Toshiaki and Suzuki Kyoka. It was just BEYOND hillarious with brilliant jokes and comedy scenes!! Excellent story, and it'll make you laugh till your stomach feels hurt!^^
One of his memorable written drama script was also "Ohsama no Resutoran", starring Matsumoto Koshiro (Matsu Takako's father) and Yamaguchi Tomoko, in 1995. This dorama is A-MUST watch!!! Excellent comedy drama about a French restaurant. 99% of the drama sets inside the restaurant, ...but that's the beauty of it ^v^ Trust me, it's not boring at all. Yamaguchi Tomoko was excellent too!
Well, I can go on and on when I talk about Mitani Koki's works, so I better stop here x) One last words: If you like comedy, I HIGHLY recommend dramas and movies written by Mitani Koki!!
I have to say, that Nojima Shinji is the #1 writer who has written WEIRDEST stories ever!!^.^ Most of his dramas are dark, and ...well, weird x) And his dramas are really not my cup of tea....only 1-2 of them, that I actually like!
Just some comments on the dramas' plots he wrote, that I've watched:
Miseinen [Under Age] (1995) - Issei Ishida, Takashi Sorimachi, Shingo Katori, Ayumi Hamasaki
I almost dozed off in the first 6 episodes, if not because of Shingo. Although I have to say that the ending of episode 10, was a perfect scene, i cried my eyes out everytime i re-watched that scene x) Really....a very slow-paced dorama for me......
Seikimatsu no Uta [The Last Song] (1998) - Yutaka Takenouchi, Maki Sakai, Yoshino Kimura
Just plain weird, weird and weird. The set is in a small village. There's a weird character, that is in a human-shape, but acts like a pet animal. There's a love story between human and ghost. A woman which always stays home, and cannot stand the sunshine, she'll die right away if she goes outside. And some other weird stuffs. What makes me goes thru the whole thing are Takenouchi Yutaka, and the half-human half-pet animal character x)
Strawberry on Shortcake (2001) - Hideaki Takizawa, Kyoko Fukada
I dont like it. Nuff said.
PRIDE - Kimura Takuya, Takeuchi Yuko, Ichikawa Somegoro
I'm surprised that this one is very light-hearted. But the story is just too common. It was good, but it just didn't strike me, I guess.
The 2 which I really LOVE are:
Golden Bowl (2002) - Kaneshiro Takeshi, Kuroki Hitomi
Perfect, perfect, and just plain purrrrfect!!!! LOVE IT!!! Although, it is adapted from a manga, and was not Nojima's original piece...but I still appreciate it as one of his work....its not an easy task to make a good adaptation ^_^
Bara no nai Hanaya (2008) - Katori Shingo, Takeuchi Yuko
I'm surprised I'm liking this one alot, alot. I had no expectation whatsoever on this drama when I first heard about it. It is still on episode 6, but I'm loving it very much already. Hope the good and the pace stay still to the end. The genre of the story is like a mix of light-hearted romance, suspense mystery and weird/bizarre like Seikimatsu no Uta^^
Despite his weird scripts, I still appreciate all of his bizarre works...and he frequently gets awards even from dramas I dislike...so he must have great talent^^
As for Kitagawa Eriko, there were Asunaro Hakusho, Aishiteiru to Itte kure, Long Vacation, Saigo no Koi, Over Time, Beautiful Life, Love Story, Sorakara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi, Orange Days. These are all some of Kitagawa's famous masterpieces. Despite that most of her works have became high-rated dramas, most popular among Japanese viewers, and her works have become favorites of many J-drama fans, she's NOT even one of my Top 3^^ Actually, Long Vacation and Orange Days are ones of the top on my list!!^^ but, since the rest are futsu for me....so I cant say, she's one of my fave.
Beautiful Life was a good quality dorama, indeed. But there's just something with this dorama that just doesnt click for me^^; While Sorakara have a fabulous ending which made me cried my eyes out, the first 6 episodes are slow-paced and boring for me....i think Kitagawa is nowhere near Nozawa Hisashi, in writing suspense mystery drama, or maybe this mystery story of hers, just didnt liven up to my expectation(after watching Nozawa's dramas!)...but the script of Sorakara has received an award, so it must be real good! My personal taste just dont get, where's the beauty of the story, i guess....
Getting on to my TOP THREE Japanese Screenwriters!
#3 is Yoshida Noriko
My MOST favorite ROMANTIC COMEDY writer!! I adore all of her love comedy works!!! They're ALL just PERFECT, in my eyes! And I can re-watch them, over and over and over without getting tired of it!!!^o^
What has amazed me, is how she makes such a simple love story become an -excellent hillarious and amazingly enjoyable to watch- entertainment!! The words, the dialogues, the scenes, the characters are just so memorable....so, even though the global story is very, very simple....but the detailed stuffs is really interesting to me...(FYI, that's what I found lacking in Beautiful Life).
Yoshida Noriko's famous Rikon/Kekkon Trilogy:
NARITA RIKON - Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Asaka Seto, Hiroshi Abe, Eri Fukatsu
Every episode has it's own great story and great scenes. The story is actually a very simple one, but somehow they can develop the simple story to a great one! I love how Ichiro and Yuko tried to make up and being all nice to each other, on one episode, but in the end of each episode...there must be something that will break them off again. I read reviews that this dorama has too many quarelling and bickering scenes....NOT for me. I think there are no unnecessary quarelling scenes, every quarelling scenes have good reasons and plus, Ichiro and Yuko bicker in a very funny way. So, I enjoyed their bickering scenes. Makes me laugh!^^ And, it's not like all they do is bicker in the house...they have their calm moments too, and they talk just like friends would talk to each other. I also love the fact that they actually care for each other and still love each other, but too proud to admit it!^^ Overall, this is one of my favorite drama. A great divorce story!
OMIAI KEKKON - Takako Matsu, Yusuke Santamaria, Yousuke Kubozuka
It was an EXCELLENT drama! I really enjoyed it. I love it. The story was just so funny! Matsu Takako was just adorable and superb!! She portrayed Setsuko so funny!
Storywise, I would really give this a 9! But, Yusuke Santamaria made it worth only 8.5 >_< I dunno what's on the producers mind casting him as the main lead...he doesn't have any screen presence at all...
DEKICHATTA KEKKON - Yutaka Takenouchi, Ryoko Hirosue, Hiroshi Abe, Yuriko Ishida, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Another one of the BEST dorama! A perfect mixture of ridiculous comedy and heart-touching drama. Everything is just so simple! It's not about those two persons in different worlds fall in love, but this is about ordinary and common 2 persons, which we normally find in our life, not in love, facing problems, which eventually led them gradually to be in love^^ I mean, Ryunosuke is such a simple guy and Chiyo is also a simple girl, then they encounter these problems, which looks pretty simple to solve, but everything becomes so complicated in the end...because...well, that's life!!
The only reason that Noriko Yoshida is my #3 is because I think, writing a love comedy, is an easier thing to do, compared to writing mystery or detective stories like the Top Two below ^-^
#2 is Nozawa Hisashi
EXCELLENT mystery scriptwriter! I love both of his amazing masterpieces, Sleeping Forest and Ice World. Wonderful!! Its really amazing how he can made separate puzzles, seems like totally, unrelated things....becomes related as time goes by, slowly....then those separated puzzles slowly become one in the end, and becomes one clear picture, which is the answer to all the questions since the beginning of the story.
Sleeping Forest - Takuya Kimura, Miho Nakayama, Toru Nakamura
Great suspense dorama! The first 5 episodes are just magnificent. They are intenseful and exciting. Starting episode 6, when it becomes a little more clearer who Naoki really is, the intense atmosphere loosened, but it was replaced with many, many beautiful and touching scenes which left such deep impression. I admit, there are some boring scenes, but the impressive scenes over-shadowed it. The climax didn't really go as exciting as Ice World's climax, but it's enough that it made me feel goosebumps^^ However, the murderer was not very hard to guess, I can already guess who the murderer is around episode 6-7^^ Nevertheless, this dorama really deserves a 9. Such a magnificent drama.
Ice World - Yutaka Takenouchi, Nanako Matsushima, Toru Nakamura, Yuki Uchida
This is a VERY cool and superb drama. The story can really entice you from the beginning, the intense kept going on from episode 1 to the last episode, almost no boring scenes. Moreover, the climax in the last episode, would really satisfy you. The drama carry a heavy depth.
If only I can get "Nemurenu Yoru wo Daite" on my hands, another Nozawa Hisashi's piece.
MY #1 is and will always be, MITANI KOKI
He's the KING OF COMEDY! haha...I love this ojisan! His works and also, his personality. He might be the only scriptwriter who showed his face the most on TV screens, among other writers (probably because he's also a director). He's really a funny guy, in person!
The reason he is my #1, is because I love comedy more than serious stories. I love almost all of his works I've seen, so far. And I just really admire his clever, brilliant jokes, he has his own significant type of jokes, that when you watch the funny scene, you just know that its just sooooooooo -Mitani Koki- funny/joke type!!^.^
Interesting enough, not only comedy, but he's also good with detective stories. He has received Best Script awards twice, for his Detective Furuhata Ninzaburou drama series, and proven that it was a big successful drama! I bought one of Furuhata novel series written by Mitani....and it is gooood! I love it!
Another worth to mention is, Ai Kotoba wa Yuuki [Password of Love is Courage]. Also an award-winning dorama, including Best Script award. Starring Yakusho Koji, Katori Shingo, Suzuki Kyoka, and Tanaka Kunie. The comedy really cracked me up, big time....esp. the first few episodes, were just sooooo funny! I have to say, the story is really original, fresh and uncommon, not really easy to think of, sets in a small village surrounds by mountains and forests. Tanaka Kunie as the village head, Kyoka Suzuki as the innocent village head's daughter, Shingo Katori as the village boy who just came back from the big city had a crush on the village head's daughter, and Koji Yakusho as the fake lawyer(really, an actor) came from Tokyo, cheated the whole villagers, asked by Shingo and Tanaka to save the village.
One of Mitani's masterpiece was "Shinsengumi!". Also won the Best Script award, Mitani has successfully created an excellent adaptation script to the real legendary history. He made the drama watchable for all ages and genders, due to the lightness.
But even with the comedy, still.. he managed to make it as seriously as it is, in adapting a Japanese most memorable history, and not to let down the historical purists.
What made this drama good was the mixture contents of it.....touching brotherhood, friendship moments, also many hillarious moments, and also, the love stories, in a perfect composition for a taiga drama, not too many, not too less....I love all the romantic scenes, its not the wishy-washy type, fits for the taiga theme, but still touching and sweet! One of Mitani's most excellent work besides Furuhata, IMHO.
There was also Warai no Daigaku(starring Yakusho Koji and Inagaki Goro), how 90% of the movie is only about 2 persons' dialogues in a room yet making it as a hillarious comedy and very interesting, is just EXCELLENT! You have to watch it yourself to believe it!^_~
Another excellent movie written and directed by Mitani Koki, was Rajio no Jikan [Welcome Back Mr. McDonald], starring Karasawa Toshiaki and Suzuki Kyoka. It was just BEYOND hillarious with brilliant jokes and comedy scenes!! Excellent story, and it'll make you laugh till your stomach feels hurt!^^
One of his memorable written drama script was also "Ohsama no Resutoran", starring Matsumoto Koshiro (Matsu Takako's father) and Yamaguchi Tomoko, in 1995. This dorama is A-MUST watch!!! Excellent comedy drama about a French restaurant. 99% of the drama sets inside the restaurant, ...but that's the beauty of it ^v^ Trust me, it's not boring at all. Yamaguchi Tomoko was excellent too!
Well, I can go on and on when I talk about Mitani Koki's works, so I better stop here x) One last words: If you like comedy, I HIGHLY recommend dramas and movies written by Mitani Koki!!
Hey yanie, thanks for the thought-out reply! Hmm...looks like Yoshida Noriko wrote Dr. Koto and Yasashii Jikan. Dr. Koto good, but Yasashii Jikan was extraordinarily so...if you haven't seen it try to check it out!
I'll definitely be referring back to this thread for doramas to watch. Actually I already have Ice World Ep1, I guess I should finally sit down and watch it. I do hope it's better than Sleeping Forrest. I would have given that a six! Uhoh, hope you're not incompatible with my dorama tastes.
Thanks again for the tips everyone =)
I'll definitely be referring back to this thread for doramas to watch. Actually I already have Ice World Ep1, I guess I should finally sit down and watch it. I do hope it's better than Sleeping Forrest. I would have given that a six! Uhoh, hope you're not incompatible with my dorama tastes.
Thanks again for the tips everyone =)
Kuramoto Sou was actually the main writer behind Yasashii Jikan, Haikei, Chichue-sama had the same "feel" to it as he wrote that one as well.ruisu wrote:Hey yanie, thanks for the thought-out reply! Hmm...looks like Yoshida Noriko wrote Dr. Koto and Yasashii Jikan. Dr. Koto good, but Yasashii Jikan was extraordinarily so...if you haven't seen it try to check it out!
Anyways I am a big fan of Kudo Kankuro's work(IWGP, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger & Dragon. movies: Go, Ping Pong etc.).
-
jaycee05
- Fansubber
- Posts: 484
- Joined: Apr 20th, '04, 01:34
- Location: BC, Canada
- Been thanked: 2 times
- Contact:
Ditto!Magicus wrote: Anyways I am a big fan of Kudo Kankuro's work(IWGP, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger & Dragon. movies: Go, Ping Pong etc.).
Magicus wrote: Anyways I am a big fan of Kudo Kankuro's work(IWGP, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger & Dragon. movies: Go, Ping Pong etc.).
He's a GENIUS. (and i'm OBVIOUSLY NOT only talking about his plots - I mean the dialogues! the calembours! the rhytm of the scenes etc.)
-
OmegaWeltall
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Jan 30th, '08, 11:26
Yes...Kallista wrote:Magicus wrote: Anyways I am a big fan of Kudo Kankuro's work(IWGP, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger & Dragon. movies: Go, Ping Pong etc.).
(and i'm OBVIOUSLY NOT only talking about his plots - I mean the dialogues! the calembours! the rhytm of the scenes etc.)
I second (third) that. Hail Kudo Kankuro. Not that I like all dramas/films wrote, but his has some of the cleverest dialogues and characterization, broad range of themes and interesting p.o.v.I am now about to embark on Kudo Kankuro's Wagahai wa Shufu de Aru, partly because I like Natsume Soseki but mostly because of Kudo-san. I am a fan.
-
Hitokiri_Johndoesai
- Posts: 160
- Joined: Jul 15th, '07, 18:30
- Location: Turkey
My favourite is Kuramoto Sou. Every show written by him that I've watched I've not only enjoyed but reflected upon the meaning behind the plot and also its storylines and characters. I am always impressed with how he explores the relationship between father and son and family members. His portrayal of the family dynamic between his characters in times of unfortunate circumstances is the most heartbreaking and meaningful work of art that I've seen in the Jdrama world.
I wanna say I like Kudo Kankuro as well, but the only show I've enjoyed by him is the rather recent 11 nin mo iru!. I've enjoyed his other shows too (mainly Ryusei no Kizuna), but they fall short of the scope and emotional impact of Kuramoto Sou's shows.
I've enjoyed Kitagawa Eriko's Orange Days (one of my firsts) and also Tatta hitotsu no koi as well, but it's hard to say I like all of her work. Mostly because her subject matter and content of her work do not connect with me on a deeper level. While I am a huge romantic, her storylines and characters do not hint at a deeper philosophical or social meaning. Also, her lacks the consistency; while Orange Days and Tatta hitotsu no koi were both wonderful romance stories, I was rather underwhelmed by her writing of Sunao ni narenakute, which had a lot of hype leading up to it.
I wanna say I like Kudo Kankuro as well, but the only show I've enjoyed by him is the rather recent 11 nin mo iru!. I've enjoyed his other shows too (mainly Ryusei no Kizuna), but they fall short of the scope and emotional impact of Kuramoto Sou's shows.
I've enjoyed Kitagawa Eriko's Orange Days (one of my firsts) and also Tatta hitotsu no koi as well, but it's hard to say I like all of her work. Mostly because her subject matter and content of her work do not connect with me on a deeper level. While I am a huge romantic, her storylines and characters do not hint at a deeper philosophical or social meaning. Also, her lacks the consistency; while Orange Days and Tatta hitotsu no koi were both wonderful romance stories, I was rather underwhelmed by her writing of Sunao ni narenakute, which had a lot of hype leading up to it.
-
totally_0bsessed
- Posts: 579
- Joined: Apr 25th, '08, 05:52
Kuramoto Sou. Hands down. From what I've seen from his works: Haikei Chichiue-sama, Yasashii Jikan & Kaze no Garden, all have left a lasting impression to me. I hope he comes out with another masterpiece soon!
I also really like Kudo Kankuro but I enjoy his original works more than his adaptations like Ryusei no Kizuna.
Koreeda Hirokazu (Nobody Knows), Sono Sion (Love Exposure), Yukisada Isao (Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu) are great too.
My recent fave is Sakamoto Yuji (Mother, Soredemo Ikite Yuku, Saikou no Rikon) so yeah I'm totally anticipating Woman next season.
I also really like Kudo Kankuro but I enjoy his original works more than his adaptations like Ryusei no Kizuna.
Koreeda Hirokazu (Nobody Knows), Sono Sion (Love Exposure), Yukisada Isao (Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu) are great too.
My recent fave is Sakamoto Yuji (Mother, Soredemo Ikite Yuku, Saikou no Rikon) so yeah I'm totally anticipating Woman next season.
I don't know if it has something to do with the way dramas are made but I've noticed that often jdrama writers are very uneven... like for a lot of them they can write something I really love and then their next drama can be something I find completely unwatchable. I think my favorite writer is Satoshi Miki, I've liked almost all of his dramas and movies.
-
Keiko1981
- Administrator
- Posts: 7571
- Joined: Apr 9th, '06, 11:27
- Location: Sweden
- Has thanked: 5 times
- Been thanked: 82 times
- Contact:
Could be the fact that many dramas are nowadays based upon either mangas or novels.ecco27 wrote:I don't know if it has something to do with the way dramas are made but I've noticed that often jdrama writers are very uneven... like for a lot of them they can write something I really love and then their next drama can be something I find completely unwatchable. I think my favorite writer is Satoshi Miki, I've liked almost all of his dramas and movies.
-
lontong.stroong
- Posts: 201
- Joined: Oct 27th, '12, 15:21
- Location: Right Here
Satoshi Miki, hands down. Quirky comedy master indeed, and his originality is top notch too.ecco27 wrote:I don't know if it has something to do with the way dramas are made but I've noticed that often jdrama writers are very uneven... like for a lot of them they can write something I really love and then their next drama can be something I find completely unwatchable. I think my favorite writer is Satoshi Miki, I've liked almost all of his dramas and movies.
I also enjoy Ryota Kosawa scripts (i.e. Suzuki Sensei, Always 3rd street trilogy, Gaiji Keisatsu, and Gonzo), too bad almost all of his scripts were adapted from books.
You might be right. But it doesn't have to be a deciding factor. I think, even though the stakes are high and many parties have an interest, there are still many loopholes for the creative forces.Keiko1981 wrote:How large impact does screenwriters have on dramas nowadays?
Are they given free hands anytime or is it the network which they work for that say "We want this kind of story for this drama."?
For example, I've been watching Danda Rin lately and am much impressed with the direction, which seems to bring out the best in the actors involved. The editing is quite good too, and it has a wonderful soundtrack.
On the other hand one of the writers is Takehiko Hata, who wrote some of my most hated series, like: Summer Rescue, Date Mama!, Hokaben!
Danda rin at first feels like a standard, manga based series, but turns out to be really inspired and has surprising depth.
The writing sems to be the basis here, but not the deciding factor...
I still have to see Danda rins' final though. It might still turn out to be a disaster
Mitani Koki, a new-to-me phenomenon who's been around for a long time.
Just watch Mitani Koki: Daikuko 2013 (yes, I know there's no subs) and be utterly blown away by the way this man can construct a scenario. He also wrote Shortcuts. Like many of the best in the biz, he wears other hats such as actor and director. He's close to being an auteur and far, far way from being a hack. I will be following his work closely from now on.
Just watch Mitani Koki: Daikuko 2013 (yes, I know there's no subs) and be utterly blown away by the way this man can construct a scenario. He also wrote Shortcuts. Like many of the best in the biz, he wears other hats such as actor and director. He's close to being an auteur and far, far way from being a hack. I will be following his work closely from now on.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests