Quality of Jdoramas dropping?

Cigam · Post by **Cigam** » Jan 10th, '10, 09:58

Subject, mainly. I don't claim to have seen that many Jdoramas (I've seen maybe around a dozen series?), or be that well-versed in japanese culture, but it seems that most of the recommendations people give me are for dramas a few years back, and that I've seen already.

Now, I'm pretty careful about downloading, since in Australia they give you absolutely horrendous plans, but lately I haven't found that many series which catch my interest. Also, call me shallow for relying on them, but the ratings also seemed to have dropped by a considerable margin.

The most recent dorama I've seen in Ryuusei no Kizuna, and that was a '08 series.

Oh, yeah, and if my post count is anything to go by, I'm pretty new around here, so tell me if I did something horribly, horribly wrong.

*dives for cover*

JaJe · Post by **JaJe** » Jan 10th, '10, 10:10

I suggest you to look from Dramawiki (go there from the main page of D-addicts). There is a place where all the aired dramas are listed by the Television season (go there from Upcoming dramas). There you can look new dramas and see if something interests you ^o^

I don´t think that the quality of jdoramas has dropped. Many great jdoramas have been made recently. I think that the reason why you get so many recommendations for older jdoramas, is that many people look jdoramas much time after they have already been aired on TV. The more time goes by, more people watch the jdorama. Many of the older jdoramas can be named as "classics" that´ s why people recommend those. Also the newer ones aren´t so popular yet, I guess.

Kaitoz · Post by **Kaitoz** » Jan 10th, '10, 11:01

I don't think the quality is dropping either, it's more like... stays the same... And especially since Autumn'09 (or was it summer) I am interested in most of the dramas broadcast!

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Jan 10th, '10, 11:41

There's very few pickings. If you notice, I think they've run out of creative juices. Most dramas are taken from books or mangas. Mostly mangas. Also depending on your tastes, it might not be for you. I did notice the quality of the writing degrading since they have to resort to taking things already written. Some of the dramas adapted from mangas might not be well written. They sometimes kill it. I stopped watching Jdramas for quite awhile and was in limbo so I went back to HK dramas, then started Kdramas. Now back to Jdramas. There's a few interesting dramas out there. Recent one is Jin. The ending left the viewer hanging but then, the manga is still running and the writers don't know how to end it. So they just stopped. Bloody Monday is pretty interesting. The sequel is airing this month but I don't know if they will kill the story or not. I also liked Mr.Brain, Galileo, Bara no nai hanaya, Change, Shiroi Haru, etc. There's a new season 4 24 hr ER (kyumei byoto 24 ji) drama out but not all subbed yet. The first 3 seasons were good. I haven't finish watching season 4 yet so I can't say. Triangle was interesting until the killed the ending. They decided they want to throw in a curve ball. Or maybe I just missed any clues/hints they in earlier episodes.

Last friends was popular but I didn't watch it. Not my type of drama. There are some I liked which I found interesting but may not be everyone's cup of tea. I liked Kiina. It's about solving super natural cases. And wacky teenage dramas like Hana Kimi, Zettai Kareshi, Mei's butler and Atashinchi danshi.

svenke · Post by **svenke** » Jan 10th, '10, 11:52

Yes I think so, it pains me to see that jdramas are lacking their usual mojo... korean dramas are on the rise (have been for a few years now) and even taiwanese dramas are getting better (except for their awful sound)... I hope this is just a cyclical thing and jdramas will be back up their usual quality standards soon

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Jan 10th, '10, 12:10

svenke wrote:Yes I think so, it pains me to see that jdramas are lacking their usual mojo... korean dramas are on the rise (have been for a few years now) and even taiwanese dramas are getting better (except for their awful sound)... I hope this is just a cyclical thing and jdramas will be back up their usual quality standards soon

Actually, I find Kdramas rather dull now. It used to be interesting. But there's very few good stories around. It's so cliched after awhile. Each seems to copy each other into a genre that keeps repeating itself. And there's some really unbelievable stuff they write. You wonder if the characters are crazy or the writer is over the top.

XrayMind · Post by **XrayMind** » Jan 11th, '10, 10:23

In general I find most Jdramas and Kdramas to be cliched in their story lines. Like someone will be dieing or everyone that are totally unrelated to each other somehow will run into each at the wrong/right moment. We are talking about couple millions of people in living cities like Tokyo and Seoul. Now when cliches are executed well, I don't mine. But most of the time, the writers just ran out ideas and will throw in a cliche get themselves out of a jam story line.

Anyway, personally I think the quality of these dramas have always been about the same. You just happen remember all the good shows from the past and forgot about the bad ones. Each season, personally I find 2-3 shows that I will follow. If I am lucky, 4-5 shows. Of course I don't follow the rich/pretty girl/boy type shows. Well sometime will follow them, only if the chemistry been the main characters do seem real. But mainly slice of life type and well written medical or mystery shows..

aimlesswanderer · Post by **aimlesswanderer** » Jan 11th, '10, 12:54

It is normal that as you watch more jdramas they become progressively less "new" and "fresh". When I first started it was all new and interesting, but my tastes are now much more discriminating.

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Jan 11th, '10, 22:58

Well, I don't find it redundant. With Korean dramas they get pretty redundant. But when I watch Jdramas, I feel they're more informative. Sometimes there's things I can learn from it. Or concepts that make me think. Kdramas seem to be just entertainment but I don't feel like I learn anything from it by the end of the show. Kdramas tend to be too melodramatic too. I like some of their romance comedies or sometimes action. But it depends on the writing. Jdramas also depend on the writing. I wouldn't say they're all totally good either but I walk off with some food for thought when I watch jdramas sometimes. I just watched "keikan no chi". It's a pretty dark drama about right, wrong and conspiracies. It's hard to tell what's black and white. I'm currently watching "bengoshi no guzu". It's quite interesting as well regarding laws. The truth doesn't always prevail in court. But what is the truth? It's the truth if you can prove it's the truth, even if it's a lie.

Toritorisan · Post by **Toritorisan** » Jan 12th, '10, 09:01

For me, I don't think the quality of Jdramas are dropping, but I think the subject or theme of the dramas have changed. I've been watching Jdramas for a long time now and I remember during the 90's there were more dramas with "trendy love" storylines and that had lots of love triangles. Now it seems a lot dramas are focused on more career storylines. Each season there seems to be more dramas about doctors, lawyers, teachers or police with less emphasis on romance in comparison to the past.

Regarding Korean dramas, the storylines seem to come in waves. I remember when I first started watching Korean dramas, lot of the storylines were serious romantic tearjerkers. But a few years down the line, romantic comedies became popular. For me, lately it's harder for me to get into Korean dramas. The storyline has to catch my attention right away, otherwise I seem to lose interest faster than when I watch Japanese dramas.

I agree that Taiwanese dramas are improving. I like serious storylines more than the comedies (sometimes the comedies are a bit too slapstick and silly for my taste).

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Jan 12th, '10, 13:49

you really can't say the quality dropped really. more like it varies from season to season. but i have to agree with seirn in saying that they have run out of good quality written material with exception of some dramas of course. that's why they are turning their attention to making live actions of mangas.
what i noticed that most actors in jdramas these days are under 30. so if you compare them with old classic ones, you will think that they lacking some experience in some ways. Konna Koi no Hanashi is one of my most beloved classic drama of all time. if you compare it with the best dramas of this season, you can see its quality in writting/acting/characters is much higher.
i tend to find dramas with mature actors are much more stornger than the ones with younger ones. take JIN for instant. even if it is based on Manga (and it must be really interesting manga but still, is a manga based drama) was the best drama of this season. but of course that is not the case all the time. i watched Yako no Kaiden two seasons ago and i wished i never picked it up because it really made me hate my fav actor in doing such lousy and bad drama. same with BOSS. did not hate it and loved the last 2 eps but the whole drama was a huge disappointment overall and it had 3 of my most fav actors/actresses and they were all above 30.
i picked up 3-5 dramas every season (based on fav actors, storyline and other people's review) and most of time i stick to 2 or 3 of them the most. it has been happening for quiet sometime now and i have not seen any increase in dropping a drama because i thought the quality was lower than before.
but what have made me pick a fewer jdrama this season is more to do them being subbed. i am waiting for Untouchable to be finished by SARS and they release it her on d-a. the only drama that i was able to keep up with weekly was JIN (all thanks to its subber).
i am so new to kdramas world and i have only seen 6. but i do agree in that they do concentrate on love stories and they are not as informative as jdramas. even strongly love based jdrama tend to teach so many things at the end but i did not get this from kdramas that i have watched even though i really liked them and they are in my favourites list.
as for cliches in jdramas and kdramas,

YES, you only can see it happening in their drama world when they keep bumping into eachother no matter where they are. out of blue, you are walking in a random place and you see the person you want/don't want right in front of you.

bmwracer · Post by **bmwracer** » Jan 12th, '10, 14:56

The quality of the dramas has dropped because of the quality of the actors involved, which typically consists of Johnny's... Like here in the States, everyone seems more concerned about ratings than quality... Bleah.

totemokakkoii · Post by **totemokakkoii** » Jan 12th, '10, 15:42

bmwracer wrote:The quality of the dramas has dropped because of the quality of the actors involved, which typically consists of Johnny's... Like here in the States, everyone seems more concerned about ratings than quality... Bleah.

I totally agreed to what you said in the first part!

JaJe · Post by **JaJe** » Jan 12th, '10, 17:41

totemokakkoii wrote:
bmwracer wrote:The quality of the dramas has dropped because of the quality of the actors involved, which typically consists of Johnny's... Like here in the States, everyone seems more concerned about ratings than quality... Bleah.
I totally agreed to what you said in the first part!

You can´t blame Johnny´s for everything. Some of them are really good actors!

bmwracer · Post by **bmwracer** » Jan 12th, '10, 17:46

JaJe wrote:
totemokakkoii wrote:
bmwracer wrote:The quality of the dramas has dropped because of the quality of the actors involved, which typically consists of Johnny's... Like here in the States, everyone seems more concerned about ratings than quality... Bleah.
I totally agreed to what you said in the first part!
You can´t blame Johnny´s for everything. Some of them are really good actors!

But most of them aren't... And they've infested most of the dramas out there.

hiroshi · Post by **hiroshi** » Jan 12th, '10, 18:49

I can't help but think that the Japanese economy has something to do with it too. Let's face it. This is the television entertainment business. You need $$$ to hire the good scriptwriters, directors, actors, actresses, musicians/artists (for theme song), etc., to make a good series. A good series brings in the big advertising dollars which spells profits for Fuji TV, TBS, Asahi, etc.

If the network doesn't have the money and the advertisers have to cut back on their budgets, you have to go to your B- and C-list scriptwriters, actors, and so on (because you still need to fill those weekly time slots), which, ultimately, impacts upon the quality of the show. And both networks and advertisers are probably less willing these days to risk top dollars for an A-list cast and crew in the event that the series is a bust.

I agree, for whatever reason, there haven't been too many dramas out there that, I can say, really grabbed my attention. That being said, Jin was a total surprise and a complete breathe of fresh air; everything you want a good series to be.

Despite the naysayers, I enjoyed the last episode.

Bearing in mind the thoughts of previous posters (to which I don't necessarily disagree with), I think Japan's financial situation has something to do with the quality of what we're seeing these days too. Let's see what happens when their economy picks up ... whenever that will be.

Post by **Keiko1981** » Jan 12th, '10, 19:07

A while ago I posted a question if it would be possible for the Golden Era (1990s) dramas to come back.

toyotaku · Post by **toyotaku** » Jan 12th, '10, 19:29

Cost-cutting Hits TV Stations

I think they're making a mistake dropping the quality. JIN couldn't have been very cheap to make and shows there is an audience if the networks will invest in their A-list talent. The first thing consumers do when the quality deteriorates is find something else.

I'd like to remind others to please use the Spoiler tag when discussing story elements of dramas as examples. Just because you've seen JIN and know what happens, don't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet.

hiroshi · Post by **hiroshi** » Jan 12th, '10, 19:35

Keiko1981 wrote:A while ago I posted a question if it would be possible for the Golden Era (1990s) dramas to come back.

I take your and Groink's point (I guess I wasn't the only one thinking about the economy ...lol). Maybe, the Golden Era of the '90s was just that ... the Golden years of Jdorama where the shows were written from scratch starring actors and actresses who got their roles based on talent and not necessarily the agency that they were working for. The times were such that good, original storylines were aplenty and you could put together a star-studded cast like you saw in Long Vacation (Kimutaku, Takenouchi, Matsu Takako, Ryo, Izumi Inamori, Hirosue Ryoko, and Yamaguchi Tomoko). Could a network afford to do so these days at the going rates now? I don't think so. Has the viewing demographic and their expectations changed since then? I leave that up to the reader to decide.

For me, it's rare to see a Golden Era type drama these days and when you do, you end up treasuring them. Tiger & Dragon was brilliant, so was Kekkon Dekinai Otoko. If it has a theme relevant to current society, then so much the better. Haken no hinkaku comes to mind. Dramas such as these keep me watching despite my advanced age (cough ... cough ... ).

sweetimpact · Post by **sweetimpact** » Feb 7th, '10, 16:53

One thing i really love about jdramas is they can really get you thinking, ie code blue season 2. A doctor may have saved a person's life but the end result is that person will most likely be completely disable for life, with their whole body being paralyzed the future won't be bright, was it really worth saving them only to have them face the harsh reality of being disabled for life? Then there's the family involved too.

LightningEmperor · Post by **LightningEmperor** » Feb 9th, '10, 04:58

It's been awhile since I've seen a good jdrama. The year hasn't been coming out w/any interesting ones.

nnnc · Post by **nnnc** » Feb 11th, '10, 03:59

hiroshi wrote:[The times were such that good, original storylines were aplenty and you could put together a star-studded cast like you saw in Long Vacation (Kimutaku, Takenouchi, Matsu Takako, Ryo, Izumi Inamori, Hirosue Ryoko, and Yamaguchi Tomoko). Could a network afford to do so these days at the going rates now? I don't think so. Has the viewing demographic and their expectations changed since then? I leave that up to the reader to decide.

To be fair, at the time LV was filmed, the casts shouldn't be that expensive. It was the first drama for Matsu Takako, Hirosue Ryoko was just a newcomer, Takenouchi was just getting more popular, and it was Kimura's first Getsu9 lead. So I guess the costs wasn't that expensive at the time. It just that those young actors/actresses during that time are much much better than the young actors/actresses now. I mean, Kimura and Takenouchi was about 24-25 when LV was filmed. Matsu was only 19 and Hirosue was 16. But their acting in the drama were very good and put most 20-something actors/actresses of today to shame.

Archaenon · Post by **Archaenon** » Feb 11th, '10, 04:55

I notice I watch less and less jdramas every year , mainly due to the acting. It's getting worse , and I'll only watch shows based on who's on them now.

So I maybe watch 2 or a 3 a year at this rate , the last jdrama I watched that I loved waas Ninkyo Helper , I thought it was the best of that quarter. As much as I love Nagase Tomoya , Karei Naru Spy was a bit of a letdown but still enjoyable.

I'm not fond of alot of actors , my recent convert was Oguri Shun , I hated his acting in HYD , but loved him in Stand Up , but I loved Tokyo DOGS , but the rest of the cast for Tokyo DOGS was terrible.

Same with My Girl , it was cute , but I don't think I'd watch it again. I find myself getting farther and father away from jdramas , HYD was the last erally epic Jdrama I watched.

Kakijun · Post by **Kakijun** » Feb 11th, '10, 05:48

Has anyone ever considered that it might be the writing and not the acting?

A lot of recent jcomedies have tons of slapstick humor that practically forces the actors to do a bad job. A recent example would be things like the 'head bashing' with Kame in Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge.

That being said I rather like that drama

nicha89 · Post by **nicha89** » Feb 11th, '10, 06:28

I think it has something to do with the popular genres and the direction in which the jdrama is going. noticeably, a lot of dramas seem to be manga-based and/or JE-focused, which to me sometimes does make the jdrama seem cheesy as a whole. however, every season, there are at least a few good ones that meet or exceed my expectations

(and i must admit that my favorite dramas tend to have non-JE lead actors, and if they do, the actors are the rare ones who know how to act =P)

outcast_within · Post by **outcast_within** » Feb 11th, '10, 13:40

Somehow the shows that i watch lately have such an unrealistic way of handling things even though it has a serious tone.

So i just can't get into a show. Tokyo dogs, Boss, mr brain, bloody monday. They seem to get much love but to me lots of things feel horribly out of place.

I wish a really good show would appear again. Like densha otoko, or nobuta wa produce, Or even something crazy like ikkeburo west gate park.

garcon · Post by **garcon** » Feb 11th, '10, 13:59

there are alot of unsubbed jdramas.so it's hard to tell whether the quality dropped or unfortunately the subbed jdrama shows were the LQ ones....
Yamato is a lil disappointing. Jdramas seem to repeat the same mistake of putting a not so handsome/suitable actor for prince-like roles.Kame's definitely an eyesore to me.

I want more thought-provoking, brainers jshows!!!

Archaenon · Post by **Archaenon** » Feb 12th, '10, 09:11

It really is the acting for me most of the time.

I loved Nobuta Wa Produce , to death , but that's the only role I can stand Horikita Maki in . Mainly because she doesn't talk or act that much , which works for her. I hated hated the Japanese version of Hana Kimi ( I prefer the TW version ) mainly because of her awful acting , most of the cast was pretty terrible imo.

Any member of KAT-TUN should not act , I have yet to see a good role by any of them , I really try in watching dramas not because of the actors , but usually I will skip a drama with any of the members of KAT-TUN , or NEWS in it. Usually , I loooove MY BOSS, MY HERO and PRODAI.

I dunno , sometimes to the actors are too young for the roles they play , such as I'm a huge MAWANG fan ( known as MAOU ) and I a HUGE ARASHI fan , but I highly disliked the Japanese version ,and it wasn't because of OHNO's acting , it was just highly terrible in the way it's presented , I didn't get the creepies like I did with the Korean version , which was better in just about every aspect , right down to production quality.

On that note , Omg The Quiz Show II was the WORST show I ever sat through , it only had one good episode , and that was episode 4. I love ARASHI again , but wow Sakurai Sho can't act his way out of a paper bag. I wish he'd just leave acting well enough to Jun ( who is the best imo ) , Nino , Aiba ( My Girl was Great ) and Ohno.

Just think they are putting Maki and Sho in a drama together , I plan to watch it for the terrible acting , unless they suddently pull good performances out thier bum.

So yes the quality of shows have gone down, but it's all personal taste imo , alot of the shows I've mentioned people LOVED , and I know I'm going to get heat for hating the JP version of Hana Kimi ,but oh well , it made my eyes bleed.

I have a more positive outlook for this year then I did the last , even though last year had some hidden gems , and one of them was Ninkyo Helper , that had the best acting I saw all year , it should of gotten more talk then what it did.

Archaenon · Post by **Archaenon** » Feb 12th, '10, 09:19

outcast_within wrote:Somehow the shows that i watch lately have such an unrealistic way of handling things even though it has a serious tone.

So i just can't get into a show. Tokyo dogs, Boss, mr brain, bloody monday. They seem to get much love but to me lots of things feel horribly out of place.

I wish a really good show would appear again. Like densha otoko, or nobuta wa produce, Or even something crazy like ikkeburo west gate park.

I liked TOKYO Dogs , but man was it presented badly in alot of the unrealistic aspects as you stated. Esp the intro ep where they go after the people holed up in that apartment building. Any self respecting criminal would of shot Maruo in the face.

Bloody Monday was hailed as the Japanese version of 24 , which sadly it's not. I can't take it seriously because well 24 is a tough act to follow , I stopped watching the second season of Bloody Monday just due to the first couple of episodes being laughable.

I passed on BOSS because of it's premise , it's the same reason I passed on STYLE ( Korean drama dealing with almost the same thing ).

Densha Otoko was great , probably one of my favorites , it was just done well. Nobuta , while I had issues with alot of the actors , was good as well , I like the whole idea and they way it was shot , etc...

IWGP , is probably one of THE BEST DRAMA'S ever made. I have watched that numerous times ( I have a biased for Nagase Tomoya as well ) and it got better every time. I always sugest IWGP if anyone is asking for reccommended dramas , because it's one of the all time best imo.

Abhijeet · Post by **Abhijeet** » Feb 12th, '10, 10:35

seirin wrote:Well, I don't find it redundant. With Korean dramas they get pretty redundant. But when I watch Jdramas, I feel they're more informative. Sometimes there's things I can learn from it. Or concepts that make me think. Kdramas seem to be just entertainment but I don't feel like I learn anything from it by the end of the show. Kdramas tend to be too melodramatic too. I like some of their romance comedies or sometimes action.

^^ this is totally true. i've been watching kdramas for a few years now and i can say that they do become redundant. thats why i've started watching jdramas now and i totally agree with seirin for the comparison of the substance of these two drama categories. i also find jdramas more fresh and informative.

outcast_within · Post by **outcast_within** » Feb 12th, '10, 15:22

Archaenon wrote:
outcast_within wrote:Somehow the shows that i watch lately have such an unrealistic way of handling things even though it has a serious tone.

So i just can't get into a show. Tokyo dogs, Boss, mr brain, bloody monday. They seem to get much love but to me lots of things feel horribly out of place.

I wish a really good show would appear again. Like densha otoko, or nobuta wa produce, Or even something crazy like ikkeburo west gate park.
I liked TOKYO Dogs , but man was it presented badly in alot of the unrealistic aspects as you stated. Esp the intro ep where they go after the people holed up in that apartment building. Any self respecting criminal would of shot Maruo in the face.

So true

koyuki-chan · Post by **koyuki-chan** » Feb 22nd, '10, 03:45

Some dramas based on manga is really enjoyable, for example Hotaru no Hikari, JIN, Hanakimi, etc.. but a lot also sucks

Recent example is Yamanade. I was really looking forward to watch this, but blehh, I'm very much disappointed.

I think the CAST is mostly the one to blame. The story or writing may be good, but how would I expect a good dramas when it's passed to a not-so-qualified talent. I'm not talking about talent only , but the drama producers themselves seems not considering enough about the suitness between the role and actor/actresses

I agreed that it's now difficult to find a good Jdramas. I really missed the drama back at late 90's or early 2000's :alcoholic:

chrysanthemum · Post by **chrysanthemum** » Feb 22nd, '10, 04:54

I used to think the quality was dropping, but now I've convinced myself that I've just overdosed on too much of a good thing. I always remember the first dramas I watched as some of the best... like Virgin Road, Otousan, and Cheap Love... but now I wonder if they just seemed like the best because Asian dramas were a novel thing for me at the time. And therefore, following that, either the dramas today are just as good as before or those dramas I mentioned weren't really that great to begin with.

In short, I remember crying so much when I saw Otousan... but I wonder if I would cry as much today if I were seeing it for the first time.

taylor · Post by **taylor** » Feb 22nd, '10, 04:57

seirin wrote:Well, I don't find it redundant. With Korean dramas they get pretty redundant. But when I watch Jdramas, I feel they're more informative. Sometimes there's things I can learn from it. Or concepts that make me think. Kdramas seem to be just entertainment but I don't feel like I learn anything from it by the end of the show. Kdramas tend to be too melodramatic too. I like some of their romance comedies or sometimes action. But it depends on the writing. Jdramas also depend on the writing. I wouldn't say they're all totally good either but I walk off with some food for thought when I watch jdramas sometimes. I just watched "keikan no chi". It's a pretty dark drama about right, wrong and conspiracies. It's hard to tell what's black and white. I'm currently watching "bengoshi no guzu". It's quite interesting as well regarding laws. The truth doesn't always prevail in court. But what is the truth? It's the truth if you can prove it's the truth, even if it's a lie.

Me too, I think Jdramas give another perpective which peeks a lot of interest. Sometimes I find myself pondering on some character's line and it in the end I find it quiet unique. Their scenes, on how it was organize are very unpredictable too. Unlike some dramas wherein we already know where the plot is going. Theirs are just completely awesome.

Witwe · Post by **Witwe** » Feb 22nd, '10, 13:48

I don't think the qualitiy of today's doramas is going down. It's just that sometimes the better ones get ignored by most people (here?), sometimes they don't even get subbed or so slow that many people give up on them or watch them later. So doramas are mostly popular because of the actors and/or because people like the manga. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though it can get really annoying if you want to talk about a drama that you like and all people seem to talk about is how hot the main character was. Sadly, talent has got nothing to do with age, looks, agency... would be so much easier to determine what to watch.

The reason why many older dramas seem to be better is because people forget the bad ones and remember the good ones, recommending only the good ones to others. I know someone here said that before, just wanted to voice my agreement.

What I like about JDramas is that sometimes the story sounds boring as hell but when you watch it, it's really interesting because of how the characters interact (Tokujo Kabachi is a recent exception to that, it's even more boring than it sounded).

ZoddGuts · Post by **ZoddGuts** » Feb 22nd, '10, 14:11

Man I just finish Coffee Prince a few days ago it was soooooooooo good it pretty much craps on 99.999999% of Japanese dramas. I've seen quite a lot of J-Dramas and the only ones I can think of that are close to the quality of Coffee Prince are Orange Days though that series loses steam halfway through and Dr. Koto Shinryojo.

Other J-dramas that may have a good plot either have bad acting, bad directing and a cheap low budget feel to them. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them though I tend to keep my standards low for each drama since most don't tend do be good.

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Feb 22nd, '10, 15:46

ZoddGuts wrote:Man I just finish Coffee Prince a few days ago it was soooooooooo good it pretty much craps on 99.999999% of Japanese dramas. I've seen quite a lot of J-Dramas and the only ones I can think of that are close to the quality of Coffee Prince are Orange Days though that series loses steam halfway through and Dr. Koto Shinryojo.

Other J-dramas that may have a good plot either have bad acting, bad directing and a cheap low budget feel to them. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them though I tend to keep my standards low for each drama since most don't tend do be good.

if you think that 99.999999% of Jdramas are crap and you bothered to mention Coffee Prince drama (no offence to CP drama as i am intending to watch it myself) as a great one, then you either are a kdrama fan and not much into jdramas (unlike most of people who posted in this thread) or have NOT seen enough jdramas.
and if you have watched "quiet lots of jdramas" (atlease as much as me i hope) then you should come to this conclusion that they are NOT as crappy as you think and there is alot of good, reall good and great ones out there that never make up for that 99.999999% result. also, why would you continue watching "quiet lots of " jdramas when you think so low of them. i would have totally crossed them from my to watch list if i saw 5 consecutive crappy drama from anywhere.

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 22nd, '10, 20:49

ZoddGuts wrote:Man I just finish Coffee Prince a few days ago it was soooooooooo good it pretty much craps on 99.999999% of Japanese dramas. I've seen quite a lot of J-Dramas and the only ones I can think of that are close to the quality of Coffee Prince are Orange Days though that series loses steam halfway through and Dr. Koto Shinryojo.

Other J-dramas that may have a good plot either have bad acting, bad directing and a cheap low budget feel to them. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them though I tend to keep my standards low for each drama since most don't tend do be good.

I don't know maybe it's just your personal view? I watched Coffee Prince and the story irritated me so much and I felt it was so stupid I stopped watching it. Truthfully, I felt like slapping and shaking the female character to her senses. And the secondary female character is so spoiled, I say the guy is stupid. He should have dumped her ages ago. And I can't believe he falls for the tom boy. She's pretty gross at times and he's not bad looking. You would think all the females in the world were ugly or all spoiled like his gf so there's no other choices. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.

chrysanthemum · Post by **chrysanthemum** » Feb 22nd, '10, 21:26

seirin wrote: I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.

And that brings up another point. The dramas that I like are not necessarily the dramas that I would recommend. Kimi wa Petto is one of my top favorite dramas... but I recognize that the plot wouldn't appeal to a lot of my friends... the pet concept, the age difference, the chihuahua man...

nikochanr3 · Post by **nikochanr3** » Feb 22nd, '10, 21:29

I thought JIN was fantastic. That was a high quality show.

ZoddGuts · Post by **ZoddGuts** » Feb 23rd, '10, 00:13

seirin wrote:
ZoddGuts wrote:Man I just finish Coffee Prince a few days ago it was soooooooooo good it pretty much craps on 99.999999% of Japanese dramas. I've seen quite a lot of J-Dramas and the only ones I can think of that are close to the quality of Coffee Prince are Orange Days though that series loses steam halfway through and Dr. Koto Shinryojo.

Other J-dramas that may have a good plot either have bad acting, bad directing and a cheap low budget feel to them. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them though I tend to keep my standards low for each drama since most don't tend do be good.
I don't know maybe it's just your personal view? I watched Coffee Prince and the story irritated me so much and I felt it was so stupid I stopped watching it. Truthfully, I felt like slapping and shaking the female character to her senses. And the secondary female character is so spoiled, I say the guy is stupid. He should have dumped her ages ago. And I can't believe he falls for the tom boy. She's pretty gross at times and he's not bad looking. You would think all the females in the world were ugly or all spoiled like his gf so there's no other choices. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.

The relationship between the secondary girl and the secondary guy felt realistic you be surprise by how guys are willing to put up with a girl by how much there in love with them either way though he did falter a bit anyways she did change towards the end of the series. The girl as a boy was very tomboyish to begin with and also the family household lead, personally love the way she acted and also did a very convincing job as a "boy" unlike Maki in Hana Kimi which still looked like a girl but also a very horrible fake boy voice not so believable that she could trick other into thinking she was a boy.

Anyways I have been watching j-drama and k-drama for over ten years. I live hear in L.A. where there's a big asian population so there's several japanese/korean tv stations. I tend to watch j-dramas and k-dramas eventhough most tend to be cheesy and badly acted, both k-drama and j-dramas tend to be so bad that it's good which makes it fun for me to watch, sorta like a B-movie or C- movie. Coffee Prince was neither badly acted, badly directed and it was well written I haven't seen many j-dramas and k-dramas up to that standard.

BTW Just to be clear never intented to mean that k-dramas are better than j-dramas just saying Coffee Prince was damn good.

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 23rd, '10, 13:39

ZoddGuts wrote:
seirin wrote:
ZoddGuts wrote:Man I just finish Coffee Prince a few days ago it was soooooooooo good it pretty much craps on 99.999999% of Japanese dramas. I've seen quite a lot of J-Dramas and the only ones I can think of that are close to the quality of Coffee Prince are Orange Days though that series loses steam halfway through and Dr. Koto Shinryojo.

Other J-dramas that may have a good plot either have bad acting, bad directing and a cheap low budget feel to them. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them though I tend to keep my standards low for each drama since most don't tend do be good.
I don't know maybe it's just your personal view? I watched Coffee Prince and the story irritated me so much and I felt it was so stupid I stopped watching it. Truthfully, I felt like slapping and shaking the female character to her senses. And the secondary female character is so spoiled, I say the guy is stupid. He should have dumped her ages ago. And I can't believe he falls for the tom boy. She's pretty gross at times and he's not bad looking. You would think all the females in the world were ugly or all spoiled like his gf so there's no other choices. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.
The relationship between the secondary girl and the secondary guy felt realistic you be surprise by how guys are willing to put up with a girl by how much there in love with them either way though he did falter a bit anyways she did change towards the end of the series. The girl as a boy was very tomboyish to begin with and also the family household lead, personally love the way she acted and also did a very convincing job as a "boy" unlike Maki in Hana Kimi which still looked like a girl but also a very horrible fake boy voice not so believable that she could trick other into thinking she was a boy.

Anyways I have been watching j-drama and k-drama for over ten years. I live hear in L.A. where there's a big asian population so there's several japanese/korean tv stations. I tend to watch j-dramas and k-dramas eventhough most tend to be cheesy and badly acted, both k-drama and j-dramas tend to be so bad that it's good which makes it fun for me to watch, sorta like a B-movie or C- movie. Coffee Prince was neither badly acted, badly directed and it was well written I haven't seen many j-dramas and k-dramas up to that standard.

BTW Just to be clear never intented to mean that k-dramas are better than j-dramas just saying Coffee Prince was damn good.

If you read Hana Kimi manga, you would probably have a different view of how Maki acted the role. It's unrealisitic because it's based on a manga. If you notice, most Jdramas aren't meant to be realistic because most are based on mangas. Of course, HanaKimi drama was more over the top than the manga. Do you really think there's a superhero that runs around NYC like DC comic writes them? And how realistic is Kdrama when see all rich guys fall for poor girls? They're like story books of Cinderella finding their prince. It's not reality. And it's reality that rich, good looking guys fall for tom boys with no manners? What you get out of Jdramas though at the end is reflecting on your own life. What have you learned from the characters in the end? Like Samura High School. Heck can you imagine anyone being possessed by a Samurai? But what I got in the end is "Don't waste your life away. Do something with it. Even if you don't become someone awesome. At least try to be someone useful". It's not a great drama but it was amusing and Muira surprised me with his acting. I pegged him as stoic when I saw Binbo Danshi. As for the CP drama, I think didn't think the acting was good. But I didn't like the story. It just felt so pathetic and the main character was written so selfish. How can she let a guy suffer just hold in the truth. I don't like liars. I admit I tell white lies sometimes but that is a big lie that hurt people. It felt like I was told "It's okay to lie, even if you hurt someone. As long as you're happy" It made me felt like cursing.

I forgot to mention. But I noticed with the culture that they tend to be nice. They may say bad things behind you but in front of you they will won't say mean things in general. Except if you're being bullied. But that's besides the point. In the manga, people did notice she was a like a girl. Many people comment on it but she says she isn't so people take it as "He's just feminine looking". As you notice, there are a lot of feminine looking guys around. I doubt you would go around accusing someone is a girl if they state they are a boy. People wouldn't go around saying "I don't believe you're a guy. Let me touch you to confirm" They would just nod and agree, but may have doubts in their mind. Of course, if it was in America, they would probably tease you to death, spread rumours about you, sneer at you or maybe even bully you.

If I didn't know Kame and he dressed as a girl and told me he was a girl, I would believe it. I would just think he's a girl with a deeper voice than normal. Even my boss says Asian guys look girly, which is kinda true.

As for her voice, I know some females have low pitch voice and some males have high pitch voice. So you can't really assume and accuse based on that. I know a boy who has a high pitch voice. It was good he didn't look feminine. If he did and dressed as a girl, I would have believed him if he told me he was one. And those transvestites in Thailand. They're so pretty. I could mistake them for a girl.

Sorvaseven · Post by **Sorvaseven** » Feb 24th, '10, 09:57

I think since about two years the quality of doramas is continuous dropping very fast.
After Karei naru Ichizoku (2007) i haven't seen a better drama and i watched a lot, more than one hundred...
The plots are more and more facile and also the actors are more frequently singers,
modells and so on and not (professional) performers!

The golden era is long ago.

Now the tv stations produces twice as much dramas, but the quality of each drama is half as much

It seemst that their goal are lowbrow entertainment dramas at the expense of profound plots.

I hope to find more "old" dramas to watch and also fangroups release some
lost dramas they find in their basement

johnjeon · Post by **johnjeon** » Feb 24th, '10, 19:55

I had thought the quality of Japanese TV series had dropped but it may just be how I
pick what I watch. When I first discovered d-addicts I usually went with older dramas
that had garnered a lot of positive reviews on this site and jdorama.com.
Even though my taste is occasionally contrary to general consensus (liked Aoi Tori,
hated GTO), I usually liked all the older, recommended shows.

For the last couple years I've watched new shows as they come out so picking which to
watch is much more of a crap shoot and I'm realizing that Japanese TV is much like
American TV in that it's mostly bad. For me the writing is to blame (Bloody Monday had
plot holes big enough to drive a car through) but i often find the characters just interesting
enough to keep me watching.

So I'll keep watching; looking for the next My Little Chef or Orange Days.

Sorvaseven · Post by **Sorvaseven** » Feb 24th, '10, 20:11

johnjeon wrote:I had thought the quality of Japanese TV series had dropped but it may just be how I pick what I watch.

Yeah, a good point. Of course, like now, there were crap shows before,
but i think outstanding dramas faded the last years!
However there were good dramas like Arifureta Kiseki and Shiroi Haru...

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 24th, '10, 22:10

johnjeon wrote:I had thought the quality of Japanese TV series had dropped but it may just be how I
pick what I watch. When I first discovered d-addicts I usually went with older dramas
that had garnered a lot of positive reviews on this site and jdorama.com.
Even though my taste is occasionally contrary to general consensus (liked Aoi Tori,
hated GTO), I usually liked all the older, recommended shows.

For the last couple years I've watched new shows as they come out so picking which to
watch is much more of a crap shoot and I'm realizing that Japanese TV is much like
American TV in that it's mostly bad. For me the writing is to blame (Bloody Monday had
plot holes big enough to drive a car through) but i often find the characters just interesting
enough to keep me watching.

So I'll keep watching; looking for the next My Little Chef or Orange Days.

Jin was written pretty well. I also liked Bara no nai hanaya though it got a bit corny at the end. Also some tanpatsu dramas are pretty good. I was just watching Niji wo Kakeru Ouhi and Haruka Naru yakusoku. They're pretty well written and touching stories albeit a bit old. 2006. Some others I enjoyed were Bengoshi no kuzu and Magerarenai Onna. I quite enjoy Kanna Miho's acting.

johnjeon · Post by **johnjeon** » Feb 25th, '10, 00:05

Thanks Sorvaseven and seirin for the suggestions. Jin is the next series I'll be watching
and I am eager to see Magerarenai Onna since I'll watch anything Miho Kanno is in and so
I'm really happy Kimi no te ga sasayaite iru is being subbed
I also hope the soft-subs for Shiroi Haru will be completed soon since it does sound
good and I'm a fan of Abe Hiroshi.

The Jdrama landscape isn't a complete desert.

chrysanthemum · Post by **chrysanthemum** » Feb 25th, '10, 03:16

Kakijun wrote:A lot of recent jcomedies have tons of slapstick humor that practically forces the actors to do a bad job.

That's what I thought about Nodame Cantabile. I liked Nodame Cantabile. I just think I would have liked it better without all of the unnecessary slapping... not "cute girl" slapping, but like blows to the head in slow motion with goofy faces and spit flying that were somehow supposed to be funny. All I could think was "Why?"

rdoll · Post by **rdoll** » Feb 25th, '10, 07:58

The 'quality' of jdrama is dropping? What do you mean by this? If you say that the style of jdrama right now is different than the one in late 90s such as - Beach Boys, Love generation, Bus Stop, S.O.S, Gto, Majo no Jouken, etc, then I have to agree. But the quality isn't dropping at all. Most of jdrama in late 90s is not as good as most people said it is. Yes, there is some which really good, but most of it just watchable. I ain't gonna talk about the acting, I mean if someone like Nanako Matsushima can win a best actress that time, you should already know how bad the acting is.

Anyway, if you want a recommendation for this season drama. Watch Massugu no Otoko. This one is good. Bloody Monday 2 and Hidarime Tantei Eyes is also good if you don't care about the plot holes.

Sorvaseven · Post by **Sorvaseven** » Feb 25th, '10, 08:52

I think we have to differentiate the 'quality' more specific. Of course the technical quality of the dramas continuous to be better!
Also the animated intros and special effects are thanks to the computer much better!
What johnjeon mentioned (plot holes) is one of the apect the quality is dropping, but what is the reason?

I think one point is the new mass of dramas. A single tv station is now producing more dramas and perhaps so they can't sustain the quality. It's only a guess...
Another point is that most of the primetime shows are now based on manga and not on novells. Perhaps it's more difficult to 'convert' these stories into dramas.
I think a lot of people like the 'manga style' more and this is of course still ok!

There a some good examples were it works fine like Nodame Cantabile and GTO

rdoll · Post by **rdoll** » Feb 25th, '10, 13:24

Sorvaseven wrote: What johnjeon mentioned (plot holes) is one of the apect the quality is dropping, but what is the reason?

I can see what you mean. I mean, the best drama last season should be Jin but this drama has more plot holes than a swiss cheese. But not all new drama is full of plot holes. It's all depending on the genre of the drama. If the the drama tend to be action, paranormal or scientific - BOSS, Tokyo Dogs, Bloody Monday, Jin, Hidarime, Liar Game, etc - you get a lot of plot holes in it. Well, it's a given. I mean, do you really expect them to make sense in the first place?

But still they not as ridiculous as some of the late 90s drama can be. Ever watch Love Complex (Takashi Sorimachi, Kimura Yoshino)? One of my favourite drama in the late 90s. But I definitely ain't going to recommend this drama to you guys.

kuro570 · Post by **kuro570** » Feb 25th, '10, 13:51

As much as I like Bloody Monday I do have to admit there are just way too many bs moments... Like getting an ARMED NUKE on a CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT in a RUSSIAN airport heading to JAPAN. Whats even more absurd is how the third-i transports one of JAPANS most deadly TERRORIST on a fully occupied CIVILIAN PLANE with a mere 2 AGENTS to keep him guard. Or the simple fact that the only hacker is a 17 year old boy in college who's friends have been kidnapped, murdered or used in way to get their only ace in the hole to counteract the terrorists to do what they want and YET they find NO REASON TO SECURE HIS FRIENDS in any way shape or form!! >.<

All in all though I still like the show but quite a few dramas have these huge eye ball rolling scenes or lack of common sense scenes here and there.

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 25th, '10, 16:30

kuro570 wrote:As much as I like Bloody Monday I do have to admit there are just way too many bs moments... Like getting an ARMED NUKE on a CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT in a RUSSIAN airport heading to JAPAN. Whats even more absurd is how the third-i transports one of JAPANS most deadly TERRORIST on a fully occupied CIVILIAN PLANE with a mere 2 AGENTS to keep him guard. Or the simple fact that the only hacker is a 17 year old boy in college who's friends have been kidnapped, murdered or used in way to get their only ace in the hole to counteract the terrorists to do what they want and YET they find NO REASON TO SECURE HIS FRIENDS in any way shape or form!! >.<

All in all though I still like the show but quite a few dramas have these huge eye ball rolling scenes or lack of common sense scenes here and there.

It's because they're based on MANGAS. Comics don't need rhyme or reason for what they write. They're there to entertain. However when turned into a drama, they try to add some sort of message so the drama is more meaningful to watch. Older dramas in the past were originals or based on novels. Novels tend to be less crazy than manga based stories.

Sorvaseven · Post by **Sorvaseven** » Feb 25th, '10, 18:18

Ok, i think we nearly all agree with the 'manga' aspect, but what about the actors?
Is the quality of acting dropping? Now more and more actors a originally or additionally singers or models and not primary actors.

I have noticed the 'new face expression'. The face expression is nearly the same in different situations. Like Matsumoto Jun.
His expression is always the same

. Or another example is Yamashita Tomohisa. I know a lot of people love him and he is like a superstar, but acting is not his strongness.
(But after watching Buzzer Beat i have a little bit hope

).

Fortunately the 'great old actors' like Abe Hiroshi and Kimura Takuya are still in business, but what's happening if these generation will slowly drop out?
But i hope there will be some great new actors with a lot of potential like Shida Mirai

kuro570 · Post by **kuro570** » Feb 25th, '10, 21:44

seirin wrote:
kuro570 wrote:As much as I like Bloody Monday I do have to admit there are just way too many bs moments... Like getting an ARMED NUKE on a CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT in a RUSSIAN airport heading to JAPAN. Whats even more absurd is how the third-i transports one of JAPANS most deadly TERRORIST on a fully occupied CIVILIAN PLANE with a mere 2 AGENTS to keep him guard. Or the simple fact that the only hacker is a 17 year old boy in college who's friends have been kidnapped, murdered or used in way to get their only ace in the hole to counteract the terrorists to do what they want and YET they find NO REASON TO SECURE HIS FRIENDS in any way shape or form!! >.<

All in all though I still like the show but quite a few dramas have these huge eye ball rolling scenes or lack of common sense scenes here and there.
It's because they're based on MANGAS. Comics don't need rhyme or reason for what they write. They're there to entertain. However when turned into a drama, they try to add some sort of message so the drama is more meaningful to watch. Older dramas in the past were originals or based on novels. Novels tend to be less crazy than manga based stories.

Regardless changes could have been made for certain parts of a manga to drama, ie. Holy land, not to mention that many manga to drama usually have many changes, its not as if the story has to be unchangeable like Crows zero. can name a ton of movies that changes the plot subtly to make more sense.

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 25th, '10, 22:43

kuro570 wrote:
seirin wrote:
kuro570 wrote:As much as I like Bloody Monday I do have to admit there are just way too many bs moments... Like getting an ARMED NUKE on a CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT in a RUSSIAN airport heading to JAPAN. Whats even more absurd is how the third-i transports one of JAPANS most deadly TERRORIST on a fully occupied CIVILIAN PLANE with a mere 2 AGENTS to keep him guard. Or the simple fact that the only hacker is a 17 year old boy in college who's friends have been kidnapped, murdered or used in way to get their only ace in the hole to counteract the terrorists to do what they want and YET they find NO REASON TO SECURE HIS FRIENDS in any way shape or form!! >.<

All in all though I still like the show but quite a few dramas have these huge eye ball rolling scenes or lack of common sense scenes here and there.
It's because they're based on MANGAS. Comics don't need rhyme or reason for what they write. They're there to entertain. However when turned into a drama, they try to add some sort of message so the drama is more meaningful to watch. Older dramas in the past were originals or based on novels. Novels tend to be less crazy than manga based stories.
Regardless changes could have been made for certain parts of a manga to drama, ie. Holy land, not to mention that many manga to drama usually have many changes, its not as if the story has to be unchangeable like Crows zero. can name a ton of movies that changes the plot subtly to make more sense.

It will depend on the script writer and director to make changes. Sometimes they get crazier than the manga sometimes mellowed. But you can only change so much, otherwise it becomes a completely different story. It really depends on the manga. Some are unbelievable, some are somewhat believable.

As for young actors. Some are pretty good but I think as they mature and gain more experience, they will become better. I only saw parts of Shun's Caligula butai but it was impressive. Some of his drama projects aren't so well written though but it's not his fault. I see potential in Muira and Toma. But I guess I still prefer the seasoned actors more currently since they are more experienced. As for Nanako, I think she's a good actress..but she's mostly geared towards "yamato nadeshiko" types of roles. I don't think she's a bad actress.

thaliana · Post by **thaliana** » Feb 26th, '10, 16:03

Sorvaseven wrote:Ok, i think we nearly all agree with the 'manga' aspect, but what about the actors?
Is the quality of acting dropping? Now more and more actors a originally or additionally singers or models and not primary actors.

I have noticed the 'new face expression'. The face expression is nearly the same in different situations. Like Matsumoto Jun.
His expression is always the same . Or another example is Yamashita Tomohisa. I know a lot of people love him and he is like a superstar, but acting is not his strongness.
(But after watching Buzzer Beat i have a little bit hope ).

Fortunately the 'great old actors' like Abe Hiroshi and Kimura Takuya are still in business, but what's happening if these generation will slowly drop out?
But i hope there will be some great new actors with a lot of potential like Shida Mirai

Well, in my opinion, it's like we pick 2-3 drama from each year and put those from the whole decade together in one lump and say they (old dramas) are all good dramas compared to what we see this year. That's just kind of an unbalanced comparison imo. Maybe 10 years from now we'll be talking about a few good ones from 2009 and say that year was not too bad after all.

And about Matsumoto Jun, I think that he pulled off a totally different acting in HYD vs. in Smile (which is one of dramas that I really like from 2009 ~ I just love the issues they tackle. I love serious dramas, that is, eiei) I think he's actually one of a few Johnny's boys that can act, imho.

Ethlenn · Post by **Ethlenn** » Feb 26th, '10, 16:14

thaliana wrote:
Well, in my opinion, it's like we pick 2-3 drama from each year and put those from the whole decade together in one lump and say they (old dramas) are all good dramas compared to what we see this year. That's just kind of an unbalanced comparison imo. Maybe 10 years from now we'll be talking about a few good ones from 2009 and say that year was not too bad after all.

And about Matsumoto Jun, I think that he pulled off a totally different acting in HYD vs. in Smile (which is one of dramas that I really like from 2009 ~ I just love the issues they tackle. I love serious dramas, that is, eiei) I think he's actually one of a few Johnny's boys that can act, imho.

I just have to agree with you. I'm quite new to jdrama, but watched so far 20 of them ( I know, little), half of them have more than 5 years. I totally loved Kimura Takuya in Million Stars..., but seriously loved Matsumoto Jun in Smile. This drama deals with heavy topic, and his acting improved, really improved. In 10 years he will be great^^ I hope.
The same goes with Kdramas, you know, now idols from boybands appear in movies/dramas and it doesn't bring up the quality. I tried to watch Yamato Nadeshiko... but somehow I couldn't pass more than 2 episodes. I really like all jdramas from before 2007 though^^

Sorvaseven · Post by **Sorvaseven** » Feb 26th, '10, 17:30

thaliana wrote:
Well, in my opinion, it's like we pick 2-3 drama from each year and put those from the whole decade together in one lump and say they (old dramas) are all good dramas compared to what we see this year.

Of course the were some weak dramas in the past like Meguri ai (1998), Nisennen no koi ('00), Taiho shichauzo ('02) etc and there a also new dramas which are not really good like Ninkyo Helper with a thin and boring story, but since about two years it seems there a no 'amazing' dramas anymore. The last dramas with a big impression were in my eyes Nodame Cantabile ('06) and Karei naru Ichizoku ('07) (additional the 22 minute speech without a cut of Kimutaku in the last episode of CHANGE). The years before, there were at the least two or more dramas with some deep impressions every year. With the time the style of dramas is changing, so perhaps it's only a trap of the habit or i miss some damn good dramas

seirin · Post by **seirin** » Feb 26th, '10, 18:51

Ethlenn wrote:
thaliana wrote: I tried to watch Yamato Nadeshiko... but somehow I couldn't pass more than 2 episodes. I really like all jdramas from before 2007 though^^

Actually I found Yamato Nadeshiko kind of boring too. But what I meant by Nanako doing the Yamata Nadeshiko dramas well is she is good at doing "perfect lady" roles well. I guess in reality, maybe she is a perfect lady

MitsukaiKuroi · Post by **MitsukaiKuroi** » Feb 27th, '10, 09:46

I honestly think it depends on what you are watching... Unfortunately, a lot of really good dramas are passed up because the "guys aren't cute" in it or "there are a bunch of old 30+ women in there" so it does not get promoted. A lot of these do not get subbed, OR they are just not in the interest of the people that are subbing them, so they get pushed aside. (That is NOT a slight towards Sub teams... I respect what ALL of them do and have always shown FULL appreciation, but this is the major complaint that I have heard over the years)

So IMO you have to just ask around and sample until you find something that pulls you in. I LOVED Ohitorisama this Season and I thought it was a fun show. A lot of people hated it. The rating were horrible for it! Does it stack up to Byakuyakou or Double Kitchen for me? No. But I really enjoyed it.

So again it is to each his own.

garnet07 · Post by **garnet07** » Mar 2nd, '10, 08:11

WHY ARE PEOPLE COMPARING Japanese dramas with Korean dramas?

Mostly, I've been showing my newbie (for Asian dramas) cousins Korean dramas. I haven't even shown them Japanese dramas yet, and they're already assuming that Korean dramas are better than Japanese dramas. WHAT THE HECK!!! This may be my fault for not showing them the other culture but WHO THE FREAK starts assuming things before trying them out?

I think there was a topic before that asked the same question but for the Korean wave dying out. Both Japanese and Korean dramas comes in season. It also depends on a person's taste.

I for one love all genres: I love silly slapstick stories like Hanakimi and My Boss My Hero, mysteries like Galileo and Kiina, serious tones like Byakuyakou and Last Friends and tearjerkers like Beautiful Life. Same goes for Korean dramas: beginning of crossdressing comedy like Coffee Prince, Tearjerker like I'm Sorry I Love you, Historical drama like Jumong or Queen Seon Duk and action mystery like Story of A Man.

It really depends on the storyline too. Whether the summary captures your interests or the actors acting in it. Also when I started watching Asian dramas, I thought they were the best shows in the world. But when you watch more of it, it gets repetitive. Especially for Korean dramas, if you pick the same genre all the time, you can pretty much guess what's going to happen in the storyline. But you know what, it's personal taste and you can't seem to get away from it if you like the actors acting in those roles.

For those hating on silly slapstick like Hanakimi, My Boss My Hero or Nodame Cantabile, I enjoy those shows for what they offer. They give pure entertainment in the overly Japanese humor. If you like animes, you'll have fun watching those shows, but if you are an "old minded" person who never watched animes in their life, you probably will never understand the humor in this genre.

And what's with this hating on Johnny Boys? K I admit some of them can't act, but you can't say that whenever there is a Johnny boy, the drama is bound to suck. Eeeh that also is hand in hand with genre and storyline. There is always the dramawiki to tell you who the casts are so if there's a Johnny then DONT watch it. I actually became a Jdorama fan from watching a Johnny (Kimura Takuya, then Matsumoto Jun). But with Matsumuto Jun I found Oguri Shun in Gokusen and so many of the actors in that show.

It's usually once you watch a drama with a particular actor that you like, you want more of that actor's dramas and you discover more actors acting in other dramas and the cycle repeats. Gaah this is getting long. K ending my rant here

Ethlenn · Post by **Ethlenn** » Mar 2nd, '10, 09:03

Yes, you got the point, Hanakimi was pretty stupid but I enjoyed it throughout the episodes, well, mostly because of Shun, but... It's not the point. Point is - there is no point in comparing two sides and finding out which one is better. So far, I can clearly quality of dramas from before 2007 and after it ( so far, 30 and counting^^). I don't know, maybe it reflects the crisis in Japanese economy, maybe even writers are unease and directors unsure. But you know, in-yang circle, everything will eventually lead to a better future^^

kuro570 · Post by **kuro570** » Mar 2nd, '10, 12:11

I wouldn't say the quality of jdramas are dropping really, like MitsukaiKuroi noted many Jdramas get passed up because subbers or fansub groups have no interest in certain dramas, for example Yukimuri Sniper story was well... a bit unrealistic but the story was still pretty interesting and there was a good bit of unsaturated adult dialogue and humor. There are a ton of RAW jdramas around that peoplel would love to watch if subbed. Btw this isn't a slam against subbers in anyway, I know how hard it is especially if your working by yourself, I tried and gave up out of boredom many times myself but sadly because of these problems many people don't watch the more obscure stuff. I don't watch Kdramas at all but I could probably assume its the same way as well.

Lord Allmighty · Post by **Lord Allmighty** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:08

Definitely many Jdramas get passed up because subbers or fansub groups have no interest in certain dramas, and there are tons of dramas being produced each year. Let's not forget the diversity of drama genres in Japan so not all of them are manga based. Plus each TV channel producing the drama has target groups like teens, or more mature people, family sitcoms etc...
We're dependent on the choice made by the fansubbing community and that's personal choice because they like some actors etc...
For the comparison on j-drama vs k-drama I've pointed out many times in different posts that k-drama sucks.
Koreans say that themselves, the korean wave lasted 2 years only from 2004 until 2006.
Here's what a korean daily has to say about it :

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/ ... 90009.html

And let's not forget about how koreans copy everything japanese and western alike look here :

http://www.occidentalism.org/?p=46

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:11

why this thread is turning into Jdrama Vs Kdrama?

it was well and good until we started comparing the two and became all personal.

Ethlenn · Post by **Ethlenn** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:12

The best solution is to learn some Japanese and do not rely on subbers.
And we got your point, Lord.

Lord Allmighty · Post by **Lord Allmighty** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:14

Why are you ignoring the copy cat startegy of the korean industry (entire from food to entertainment) they even copied Starbucks and Puma look and please tell me what you'll think :

http://www.occidentalism.org/?p=46

Ethlenn · Post by **Ethlenn** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:17

I'm fed up, Lord, really. This thread is not about it.

End.

Lord Allmighty · Post by **Lord Allmighty** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:20

The truth always hurts doesn't it ???

I'm just pointing out and it wasn't me who started the korea japan drama talk in this forum. Let's be honest and admit that koreans copy a lot maybe not all of them but for the most part they do.

Chen Yisi · Post by **Chen Yisi** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:52

It's not hurting, it's just that this thread wasn't made to compare the 2 genres, that's all!
You keep making comparisons but some of us really don't caaaaaaaaare!

And for your information, a LOT of Japanese idols copied American singers/stars concepts, the biggest copycat being Ayumi Hamasaki. And you know what, Ayumi's fans still like her so whatever!
I live in France and when I go abroad I can see a lot of brands that copied some famous (and even less famous) French ones, should I blame those foreign companies? Man, this is just a waste of time, save your saliva.

And regarding the article you posted here (again), ok, you got ONE article from ONE journalist.
Do you honestly think that all the Korean nation feel represented in what's written in this article? At least I don't and I'm really not a big fan of Korean dramas.

Here is my own opinion, I'm quite disappointed with the last 2 seasons maybe 3, of Japanese dramas, I feel that it really lacks originality (except for Guest of room 0 which is really particular).
Shokojo Seira looked pathetic, where was the story in Samurai High School?, Hidarime Tantei EYE sucked, Ohitorisama was ok but really predictible and boring at some point, ROMES oh please I don't wanna talk about this one, My Girl was watchable but it really was nothing special, Tokyo Dogs was funny but absolutely not original.
And for 2010, Code Blue 2 I don't even wanna watch because of the terrible season 1, Bloody Monday 2 is a lot better than season 1 but still not a great unforgettable drama.

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:53

Lord Allmighty wrote:The truth always hurts doesn't it ???

I'm just pointing out and it wasn't me who started the korea japan drama talk in this forum. Let's be honest and admit that koreans copy a lot maybe not all of them but for the most part they do.

which truth you are talking about? if you look at my drama list, you can see that i have been watching jdramas for ages and i still do.
there is no point of discussing the weak points of kdramas in this thread. true or not true, even if you have not started the comparison. but you are heading this thread's topic to a compelete apposite way and creating unnecessary tensions between fans of each drama.

Ethlenn · Post by **Ethlenn** » Mar 2nd, '10, 13:59

Thank gods, reason back to the thread, dear^^

nhk9 · Post by **nhk9** » Mar 6th, '10, 05:16

The proliferation of the Internet and the subsequent downloading of dramas allow many second-tier dramas to be shown to audiences outside Japan. When you have more choices, naturally the percentage of good work would seemingly decrease, as in the old days, only the best ones would make it outside of Japan (like Long Vacation, Tokyo Love Story etc.)

Also, there isn't a "must watch" figure like Kimura Takuya nowadays. You've got several promising talents like Ueno, Kanno, Nagase, Tsumabuki, but none of the first rate calibre.

howtwosavealif3 · Post by **howtwosavealif3** » Mar 6th, '10, 23:44

The last must-see drama was JIN (2009) so the person who started this thread please watch that.. And the ratings were mad high... BTW. honestly if you're going to create a thread about how it's worse you should have at least tried to watch some drama from 2009... it just doesn't make sense. it's more like how should you know when the lastest you watched was ryuusei no kizuna..... 2008.. it's 2010 you knows. not to osound but... yeah.

The best year for drama for me was 2007 from the number of dramas I watched and loved/liked... For me the last must-see drama before JIN was from 2007 so... as far as how it relates to this thread... hmm.. I don't think they're getting worse... it's always like this. you know only 1 drama out of a sesaon or year is like must-see and then most of the dramas are just ehh.

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