Bad acting?

Talk about the culture and entertainment from Nihon.
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albertjlee
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Bad acting?

Post by albertjlee » Oct 17th, '06, 02:08

Is it just I, that thinks that most of the japanese actresses/actors can not act? So far, every japanese movie and drama had bad acting. Is their any good dramas/movies you can recommend that has good acting? so far i've watched: densha otoko movie and series, GTO live action, H2, and battle royal. Tt seems like they just have pretty faces and no acting skills. Its a limited selection to base my assumptions so I am looking for suggestions.

The stories are great, the directing is great, its just the art of acting fails. : /

I'm not trying to offened anyone, but givin my remarks, it probably will offend someone. Please prove me wrong and suggest something that has good acting in it. Actually, i think Razor Ramon Sumitami can act, but yea... :P

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Post by groink » Oct 17th, '06, 02:32

I talked about this in another topic here, but I can't seem to find it.

This may be very hard to comprehend, but the style of acting and what's considered good acting differ from market to market. What you actually see in the Japanese geinokai is considered good acting, while others from the outside would say otherwise. The problem is that every one of us gaijin established our baselines based on what we've seen in our home countries.

Generally, acting in Japan isn't really taken as an artform like you see in the West. Of course, this is just a generalization; there are actors in Japan who really do take their acting seriously and take on the form of what a westerner would view as an actor. But for the most part, movies and dramas are used more as marketing vehicles. And, the artists who appear in these vehicles are trained to be general entertainers - those who can dance, sing, make public speeches, walk correctly, dress right.... Oh, yeah, and maybe act to a minimally accepted level. Excellence in acting isn't encouraged because, in reality, it really isn't necessary. The screenwriting is very generic; usually the screenwriting is completed before the casting coordinator even starts shopping for talento. How is an actor supposed to take on these roles and make a serious attempt to BECOME the role? Believe it or not, no matter how BAD the acting is, the fanboys and fangirls will still love these people. From my observations, fanboys and fangirls are more caught up in the dork-like details of the artists than their acting talent.

Again, there really is no drive for acting excellence in the geinokai. The consumers of these products aren't complaining. How are you supposed to improve something if there is no pressure, drive, or competition to encourage one to do better?

What you see is not going to get any better. I've already accepted it, which is why I'm watching maybe one or two dramas per season.

--- groink

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Post by Maddie87 » Oct 17th, '06, 02:32

Umm maybe your criteria are too high :P. But well I don't think Japanese actors or actresses acting is bad. It's just like any ther dramas, there are some good and some bad. Hana Yori dango and My Boss MyHero were the ones I liked the most. You can try them and see for yourself.

albertjlee
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Post by albertjlee » Oct 17th, '06, 02:47

What you see is not going to get any better. I've already accepted it, which is why I'm watching maybe one or two dramas per season.
Holy crap groink, those are my thoughts exactly.

I figured it was marketing appeal. But still, there should still be something that is great. I watch a lot of asian cinema and korean dramas so its not like I comparing it with Hollywood type movies. Of course there are is a fair share of bad actors, it's nothing like what I have seen in these japanese movies/dramas. Actually, the acting reminds me of the power rangers, with Austin St. John.

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Post by x_XJules » Oct 17th, '06, 03:02

hana yori dango and my boss my hero are really good suggestions!!
i have a friend who at first totally made fun of all the j-doramas i watched. but he really loved my boss my hero and hyd. i gotta warn you though, my boss my hero is slapstick humor. so you'll either LOVE it or find it ridiculous.
i really liked Nobuta wo Produce. but LoL, you may want to get a second opinion on that one. i liked it before i was a fangirl.. but that series is what started my fangirlness LoL. :lol

applettt
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MM acting

Post by applettt » Oct 17th, '06, 03:04

I see you guys' points about difference between western and japanese acting. I guess is true, in many drama I watched their acting mostly focus on entertaining the audiences rather than making it believeable or realistic. Take Kurosagi for example, Its a fun drama to watch, I like seeing how these people trick each other, but I think the drama is not believeable enough. e.g. how the Shirosagi get tricked too easily or how I reckon Yamashita should be less talkative considering what he gone through in the drama. But Nevertheless i found the most fun thing about J-drama is how is sometimes mix with fantasy that creates a feeling of wickedness. E.g. Densha how they exagerrated the life of an otaku or Gal Circle about how there is a cowboy in a middle of Shibuya

But still I find some of the actors and actresses have good acting which are hard to do, e.g. Nakama Yukie in Gokusen, Nagase Tomoya in Tiger and Dragon, Abe Sadayo, I also think Kurokawa Tomoka plays a good Ame.

What you guys think ?? Please feel free to prove me wrong :P

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Post by ohcrapimonfire » Oct 17th, '06, 03:26

I'm not particularly thrilled with a lot of acting from western countries, but I don't hate J-drama acting... I think that many actors are highly talented. Some actors and actresses (those that come to mind are Kimura Takuya, Tsumabuki Satoshi, and Nakama Yukie) I think are wonderful, while others are enjoyable to watch though formulaic, and some are, well... just uncomfortable and/or annoying to watch (particularly a lot of the idols that fangirls/fanboys obsess over, but often don't have that much talent in acting. Or singing, for that matter. But I digress). But it's all personal preference.

A lot of "bad acting" is showcased in bad scripts/drama concepts/drama timing, but that doesn't mean that the actor or actress is overall terrible. In my drama viewing, I've often found that Chinese/Tw dramas often disappoint me in terms of acting, but it is also often because the drama itself does not support the actor as well as I think it could. An example of this is the actress Ariel Lin. I gave up on trying to find Tokyo Juliet (Ariel Lin and Wu Zun) remotely interesting because the acting was so horrible and the drama was horribly put together. Same with Love Contract (Ariel Lin and Mike He), but it was more boring than badly constructed. At the same time, I liked Ariel Lin in It Started With a Kiss despite her ridiculous character and the overall sillyness of the story, because it was well presented and it proved to be a decent vehicle for her acting ability.

I started drama watching by watching J-Dramas, but I've found myself watching more and more K-Dramas, and I think a lot of that has to do with how well put together the dramas are and the level of acting many Korean actors and actresses have. Then again, the J-dramas I've been able to access recently haven't exactly been quality. Darn. :(




(Sorry if this is slightly off topic since it isn't exclusively about J-Dramas!)

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Post by abcd99 » Oct 17th, '06, 03:54

I suspected that this is due to the fangirl-ism of C/J/K Dramas and it turned out that I was right. Look at my survey I conducted a while ago:
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_36839.htm

The priority is as follows:
1. Actors / Actresses
2. English Subtitle
3. Plot
4. Review
5. Genre

Since actors / actresses won by a large margin, it's more like "actor/actress worship" rather than real acting. Plot or review doesn't really matter for C/J/K dramas. You can browse the thread to understand the general attitude.

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Post by Kimika » Oct 17th, '06, 04:10

I think another thing that may fuel the "Japanese are bad actors" idea is the fact that some Japanese actors have really bad on-screen chemistry.

A majority of Japanese dramas do have a romantic aspect, whether it be the main storyline or just a sidestory. So this is probably what some people are seeing and considering bad acting. Most Japanese still aren't used to the showing off affection in public, and it's probably really really awkward to do this with someone on screen. To them, just hugging is a form of romantic attraction. While most westerns hug their friends, their family, random people they see, etc. :D Kissing, is seen even less in Japan while Westerners have probably grown up seeing their parents kiss or seeing kissing on TV commercials advertising "fun loving family" or whatnot. I honestly haven't seen one Japanese drama kiss scene that hasn't made me cringe. It's just REALLY REALLY awkward. ~_~;

Most dramas that don't have romance involved as a main point tend to have alot better acting. Like Nobuta, GTO... and probably alot more that I haven't watched but that's all I can think of right now. xD;

Of course, I'm not saying "bad Japanese acting" stems totally from this "awkward romantic acting" aspect and not from the different viewpoints, bad scripts, etc. This is just one of my takes on it. And I'm not saying that all Japanese actors have bad chemistry, there have been the good ones. But the bad ones are also in abundance.

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Post by PocketKiriyama » Oct 17th, '06, 04:48

I really disagree about most japanese can't act.
So far I have seen. Their acting is about as good as any asian cinemas.
I've watched about every drama I can get my hands on if i hear its good or with an interesting plot. Usually I go for the plot rather than the actors/actresses.
I've watched Italian, French, English, Indian, and of course all other asian dramas and movies.
Started out watching Thai dramas and Hong Kong. Stuff like Shaw Brothers from way back.
Anyway, the way I see it, there's really not much difference.
I think the most important aspect in good acting is the director.
If the seriousness of the director to get the characters out is loosen, so does the actors/actresses.
Of course its the the actors/actresses need to be fully committed to the character they are trying to portray.
More than half of the dramas I watched are usually light-hearted.
Practically you don't need a stellar performance for those kind dramas or movies.

albertjlee
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Post by albertjlee » Oct 17th, '06, 05:22

you know, catwoman and elektra probably had good directors. hell jersey girl had a great director (kevin smith) yet that couldn't save the movie worth a damn. Movies and dramas are a packaged deal, when one is bad, it tends to make everything else bad. i.e. the directing, acting, and the screen play.

When people say "What can you expect? Your asking for too much." I do not comprehend. Are you willing to go to a concert without the singer, but in place, a big screen showing one of his lip synching proformances?

Chemistry is not needed for acting. It helps alot, but thats what they are paid to do, act. If they are good actors, they would have chemistry with a spoon. They take fake lives and express feelings and desires that are not real, and they make it real. People are saying, my standards are too high, but this is like watching an elementary play with a huge budget.

I'm starting to sound like a jackass which was something im not trying to do. I will watch my boss my hero, and tiger and dragon, and then i'll be a :cussing: or I will eat my words

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Re: MM acting

Post by PocketKiriyama » Oct 17th, '06, 05:26

applettt wrote:I see you guys' points about difference between western and japanese acting. I guess is true, in many drama I watched their acting mostly focus on entertaining the audiences rather than making it believeable or realistic. Take Kurosagi for example, Its a fun drama to watch, I like seeing how these people trick each other, but I think the drama is not believeable enough. e.g. how the Shirosagi get tricked too easily or how I reckon Yamashita should be less talkative considering what he gone through in the drama. But Nevertheless i found the most fun thing about J-drama is how is sometimes mix with fantasy that creates a feeling of wickedness. E.g. Densha how they exagerrated the life of an otaku or Gal Circle about how there is a cowboy in a middle of Shibuya

But still I find some of the actors and actresses have good acting which are hard to do, e.g. Nakama Yukie in Gokusen, Nagase Tomoya in Tiger and Dragon, Abe Sadayo, I also think Kurokawa Tomoka plays a good Ame.

What you guys think ?? Please feel free to prove me wrong :P
Yamashita being too talkative....isn't that the script writer's fault?
And I agree Densha was way too exaggerated....his constipated looking face pisses me off......
Gal Circle with the cowboy is understandable but yeah very unrealistic
But hey its a lot of fun to watch.......way better than all these crappy reality shows we've been getting lately in the States!

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Post by Takekaze » Oct 17th, '06, 05:41

Many of the so-called Hollywood "superstars" can't act either. I mean, take Tom Cruise, or Jessica Simpson, they get hyped, but have no real skills (mind you, in the west, people like Pamela Anderson or even Paris Hilton get roles in movies and tv series while they have absolutely NO acting skills or even the remotest ammount of acting talent (always makes me say that Hollywood has changed from the Dreamfactory of old days to a nightmare producing only zombies)). And well, the Asian market is different than the Western market. And of course, the acting there is different, since there are different cultures, you know? Compare traditional Japanese theater with traditional European theater and you know what I mean.

As for the acting itself. Just one example: I hated Maeda Aki's performance in the Saikano movie, but it wasn't her fault. The script was garbage, pure and utter garbage. So many things were changed that, in the end, it wasn't even Saikano anymore. The script didn't give her anything decent to work with, it didn't give any of the other actors anything decent to work with (just take Kanjiya Shihori as Akemi and how her character got shelved, and Kanjiya can pull off a lot of things decently, as seen in Swing Girls).

It largely depends on the script and even the director. If the script is crap, then the best actor can't save it. And if the director has no idea what he's doing, then the result is just horrible (like the Doom movie, or Pearl Harbor (which has a horrible script, a horrible director, horrible CGI, horrible SFX and even horrible acting), or U-571 (which is completely stupid from the beginning to the end) and many other examples).

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Post by ibara » Oct 17th, '06, 05:45

This thread is interesting, but I am confused, how is "good acting" defined? Is it when an actor can take on many different types of roles convincingly? Or when he or she makes us forget that they are ______ (actor's name) and instead makes us believe that they are ________ (character they are playing)? Or is it when they display some sort of mesmerizing effect onscreen such that we can't help but watch them... act?

I agree with groink and others that maybe the conventions of our own expectations as well as the conventions of the Japanese entertainment industry make it challenging for non-"character actors" to be good actors in the sense that they are able to immerse themselves completely in the role and make us forget who they are. The "western" equivalent would be actors like Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise: no matter what kinds of roles they play, or how much they try to transform themselves so that they appear physically different, we never forget that we are looking at Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise onscreen. And since an idol-focused industry works to saturate all forms of media--film, TV, music, advertising with the image of the idol itself, it is hard for viewers to forget that they are watching this particular Japanese actor instead of the character that they are meant to be playing. Perhaps this is why the "mesmerizing" aspect of acting is most obvious in actors’ performances.

Some actors who are acknowledged as good have a background in theater, like Ken Watanabe, and Yuki Amami. OMG, I would like to have had seen Amami in a Takarazuka role. However I do not know very much about the relationship between the different types of Japanese theatre and more mainstream films and television.

I am interested to see if there are any "character actors" who are also more conventionally idol-like. I think a western equivalent would be Johnny Depp. ohcrapimonfire named Kimura Takuya, Tsumabuki Satoshi, and Nakama Yukie. I agree to an extent with your choice of Tsumabuki, but respectfully disagree about Takuya because I think he acts the same kind of role over and over again.

(But what do I know, I think Tadanobu Asano is a good actor but I also admit he acts similar roles again and again. So maybe in the end, it comes down to personal taste and subjectivity)

About the slapstick acting or the lack of overt physical affection between love interests, I also think this has more to do with the kinds of conventions that we are used to and the kinds of conventions the actors are supposed to perform in relation to the medium (TV) and genre. For example I watched Taiwanese Chiong Yau dramas when I was small, and wow, erm, I thought for quite some time that all women television actors were supposed to emote by crying and screaming dramatically. And if you watch, say, Tsumabuki getting affectionate with his female co-stars in something like Slow Dance vs something Jozee to sakana, it's a world of difference. My theory regarding those notorious "frozen kisses" on doramas is that they often happen at a turning point or cut to end of episode, so the actors have to kind of stay in place, almost like a manga frame, before credits roll and teasers for next week and new developments arrive.
Last edited by ibara on Oct 17th, '06, 08:39, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by groink » Oct 17th, '06, 06:53

albertjlee wrote:When people say "What can you expect? Your asking for too much." I do not comprehend. Are you willing to go to a concert without the singer, but in place, a big screen showing one of his lip synching proformances?
As a matter of fact, most Hello! Project and Johnny's concerts are 95-percent pre-recorded. Only their voices are live. But once again, everyone attending these concerts don't have a problem with it. Back in the 1980s, I attended a Tears for Fears concert... Boy was I disappointed... Two guys on stage, and virtually everything but the guitarist was MIDI'd.

I once read an article on Whitney Houston. In it, they criticized her karaoke singing of the American national anthem during the Super Bowl. Her publicist basically said that in a moment such as the Super Bowl, you MUST be 100-percent perfect. And the only way to achieve that is to pre-record everything.
albertjlee wrote:I'm starting to sound like a jackass which was something im not trying to do. I will watch my boss my hero, and tiger and dragon, and then i'll be a :cussing: or I will eat my words
Nah, not at all. What you're doing simply is questioning something virtually all die-hard fans accept without question. As a matter of fact, they're very much in denial IMHO.

One thought... Most of the Johnny's, IMHO, are suffering from what my friend Kayoko calls the "John Wayne Syndrome". John Wayne, the American actor, was the undisputed champion of an actor of the 20th century. But what people don't realize is that every part -- EVERY PART -- he ever played was exactly the same. It didn't matter whether he was in 19th century California wrustling cattle, or WWII as a soldier -- he was the exact same person. He never studied acting. He picked up acting after working for awhile at a movie studio in the prop department. Same thing with the SMAP member; they started out in the early 1990's, but by the mid-90's trendy drama producers started adding these guys to thier shows to boost viewership ratings. Kimura Takuya, for example, plays himself in every single drama I've seen him in.

So in all, I seriously don't believe that the art of acting has anything to do with viewership ratings and selling advertising space on TV. TV drama stars aren't popular because they're great or even good actors. They're popular because the majority of drama fans are indeed fanboys/fangirls. So once again, why prefect their acting? In another message board, everyone's saying that these actors don't even watch themselves on TV. How are you supposed to improve your acting when you don't even see your flaws? Do you think someone's going ot tell these actors they're doing something wrong? I don't think so...

--- groink

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Re: Bad acting?

Post by 20centuryboy » Oct 17th, '06, 08:12

albertjlee wrote:Is it just I, that thinks that most of the japanese actresses/actors can not act?
Did you only watch dramas featuring Nakama Yukie and Tackey ? :lol
albertjlee wrote: Actually, i think Razor Ramon Sumitami can act, but yea... :P
actually there's some really good actors in japanese dramas, like Tsutsumi Shinichi, see him in "always" and in "yamato nadeshiko", it's hard to beleive it's the same person. Kohinata Fumiyo is also one of my favourite, even if he's a bit stuck in the same part he can do some impressive interpretations like in "ruri no shima" There's also some crappy actors in the west too. There's that guy, De Niro, who is living on a self caricature for years and people still give him some credit...

I think your judgement is due to a difference of culture and language...
Maddie87 wrote:Hana Yori dango and My Boss MyHero were the ones I liked the most. You can try them and see for yourself.
Since "my boss my hero" feature Tomoya Nagase, I don't think it's a good example. Tomoya Nagase can be untertaining if the show is good ( like "tiger and dragon") but that's not what I call a "good actor"
But still I find some of the actors and actresses have good acting which are hard to do, e.g. Nakama Yukie in Gokusen, Nagase Tomoya in Tiger and Dragon, Abe Sadayo, I also think Kurokawa Tomoka plays a good Ame.
I think, you shouldn't mix the dramas you liked for X or Y reason with the specific point of the "acting".
Yamapi, Tomoya Nagase or Nakama Yukie don't act at all, they just say their lines.

to be a movie or drama actor, say your lines is enough, but that's not being a good actor.
Last edited by 20centuryboy on Oct 17th, '06, 11:00, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by babakubo » Oct 17th, '06, 08:43

While I've only watched 20 or so jdramas, here's two I recommend for the acting:

1. Joou no Kyoushitsu - Ok, not everyone in this show are great actors, but check it out for Amami Yuuki (the teacher) and Mirai Shida (the student). Amami Yuuki was the leader of Takarazuka which someone mentioned earlier. I think Takarazuka is as close to a real acting school as you can get, and all the women really bust their butt to succeed in that troupe. And Mirai Shida is just amazing for a 12 year old.

2. Odoru Daisousasen - They hired a lot of pros for this classic and nearly everyone pulls off a great performance.

I noticed a lot of people were recommending Hana Yori Dango, and I hope it's for Inoue Mao (Makino) because everyone else was subpar IMO. Mao, though, is probably the best teen Japanese actress out there and now that she's off majoring in theatre, I think is someone you should definitely keep an eye out for in the future. She just needs to find a better script. ;)

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Post by hikkichan » Oct 17th, '06, 10:49

Tamura Masakazu
Toyokawa Etsushi
Osawa Takao
Tokiwa Takako

Great drama actors... although Toyokawa and Osawa appear in movies more often.

If a movie isn't idol centric... the acting is often-times pretty good.

As for dramas... it's basically a 2hr story strectched over a 10-12hr period. So... of course you'll have tons of oversensationalized fluff to fill the time.

Also, there's just the cultural gap between Japan and the English speaking world. Japanese people don't do things that westerners do and westerners don't do things that Japanese people do. They react differently to the same situations, the have different feelings towards similiar things, and it's basically like night and day.

Having spent years in both Japan, America, and in-between... you just learn that and accept that things happen differently around the world. Too many things are lost in translation going in both directions.

Anyhows, I'll just stop since I'm basically repeating what's already been said.

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Post by juki » Oct 17th, '06, 11:31

hikkichan wrote: If a movie isn't idol centric... the acting is often-times pretty good.
I agree. I think if you watch a drama with people under 20-25, you take some risks if you're looking for good acting.

According to me 2 very good actors are Shinichi Tsutsumi and Abe Hiroshi. Kimura Takuya is good too (he can play bad guys like in sora kara furu ichioku no hoshi, very strange drama).
Nobody talks about Ichi rittoru no namida. I don't know if it's only the story which makes the actors credible or if it's really a good acting for the main characters but I would recommend this one.

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Post by gyuudon » Oct 17th, '06, 11:49

Mmm quite a few Japanese actors are pretty good.

In my opinion, my favored ones are Abe Hiroshi (very funny guy), Satoshi Tsumabuki (also known as the "Extremely Handsome Guy" in the crap movie Tokyo Drift), Sonny Chiba and I guess Nakama Yukie (<33333333333>_>

Also you have to realize that like other people said, the Japanese market is a different market and some of that times, their "acting" is just the way they talk at times. But those scenes with those monologues then all the supporting actors going "Me too!" in a synchronized/timed fashion can sometimes be a little.... overacting, but oh well, haha.

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Post by groink » Oct 17th, '06, 12:13

Well, I might as well a short list of who I think are great actors in Japan:

Tsugawa Masahiko
Nishida Toshiyuki
Naito Takashi
Takashima Reiko
Motokariya Yuika
Miyazaki Aoi
Kataoka Chiezo
Watanabe Ken
Takakura Ken
Takeda Tetsuya

--- groink

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Re: Bad acting?

Post by applettt » Oct 17th, '06, 12:29

But still I find some of the actors and actresses have good acting which are hard to do, e.g. Nakama Yukie in Gokusen, Nagase Tomoya in Tiger and Dragon, Abe Sadayo, I also think Kurokawa Tomoka plays a good Ame.
I think, you shouldn't mix the dramas you liked for X or Y reason with the specific point of the "acting".
Yamapi, Tomoya Nagase or Nakama Yukie don't act at all, they just say their lines.

to be a movie or drama actor, say your lines is enough, but that's not being a good actor.[/quote]

I dont think the reason is becoz i like the drama. In fact I find Gokusen dragging on too long, I fast forward many of the scenes, but I do think Nakama Yukie not only read her lines but deliver it good also in fact I reckon she plays a good impersonalisation of her Character Kumiko and Tomoya Nagase gangster expression cracks me up all the time. I am sure he is more than a line reader and he act his part well, I find him somewhat believeable. I dont like Yamapi so i can agree with you although i think he plays a quite good akira kusano in Nobuta and besides what they are all doing is not easy so i tend to forgive them when they stuff up some parts.

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re

Post by applettt » Oct 17th, '06, 12:34

ushiushi wrote:While I've only watched 20 or so jdramas, here's two I recommend for the acting:

1. Joou no Kyoushitsu - Ok, not everyone in this show are great actors, but check it out for Amami Yuuki (the teacher) and Mirai Shida (the student). Amami Yuuki was the leader of Takarazuka which someone mentioned earlier. I think Takarazuka is as close to a real acting school as you can get, and all the women really bust their butt to succeed in that troupe. And Mirai Shida is just amazing for a 12 year old.

2. Odoru Daisousasen - They hired a lot of pros for this classic and nearly everyone pulls off a great performance.

I noticed a lot of people were recommending Hana Yori Dango, and I hope it's for Inoue Mao (Makino) because everyone else was subpar IMO. Mao, though, is probably the best teen Japanese actress out there and now that she's off majoring in theatre, I think is someone you should definitely keep an eye out for in the future. She just needs to find a better script. ;)
I agree Mirai Shida is amazing , cant wait to see her on Tantei Gakuen Q and 14 sai no Haha

I never watch Odoru Daisousasen and i will do a search on it

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Post by mikomi » Oct 17th, '06, 13:10

hikkichan wrote:
Also, there's just the cultural gap between Japan and the English speaking world. Japanese people don't do things that westerners do and westerners don't do things that Japanese people do. They react differently to the same situations, the have different feelings towards similiar things, and it's basically like night and day.

Having spent years in both Japan, America, and in-between... you just learn that and accept that things happen differently around the world. Too many things are lost in translation going in both directions.
I agree with hikkichan on that. When the you said "bad acting" I immediately thought of cultural differences. After watching many Jdramas over the years, I realized that the Japanese really have their own ways of expressing their emotions and behaving in everyday life, it's just very very different from other cultures. I'll make an assumption here but it appears to me that the Japanese are less prone to show emotions in the public even, thus this could somewhat explain the lack of emotions in actings for some of the actors. I'm not saying that it is acceptable for an actor to not know how to act accordingly for their roles, however, if you think about it, you could see why the Japanese are more acceptant towards actors that are just there to say their lines. And if it is accepted by the audience, why should the actors or directors change the way of the actings?? This then could result in several more bad dramas from the same actors, but since no one really cares, it doesn't matter anymore. Also, some of the dramas you listed are manga-turned-dramas, and knowing the Japanese, they would definitely go after the comical and exaggerated expressions which could make the actors' actings to become quite awkward and generally bad.

I believe that there are good actors everywhere, but you see them less in Jdramas. Because like someone else said before me, the majority of the viewers of these dramas could be just the fangirls/fanboys worshipping their idols. I would also suggest that you don't entirely follow your dramas based on recommendations solely, they could be really biased. I don't think HYD has good actings, I'd say that the actings by most of the actors were very bad, minus maybe the two main ones (just maybe). Imo, some of the more enjoyable drama with good actings are those that are not well known. Just search around more, read the synopsis and decide for yourself. Often time, you'd be amazed at how much you're missing out if you're just going after the current hypes and craves.

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Re: Bad acting?

Post by 20centuryboy » Oct 17th, '06, 14:31

applettt wrote:I dont think the reason is becoz i like the drama. In fact I find Gokusen dragging on too long, I fast forward many of the scenes, but I do think Nakama Yukie not only read her lines but deliver it good also in fact I reckon she plays a good impersonalisation of her Character Kumiko and Tomoya Nagase gangster expression cracks me up all the time. I am sure he is more than a line reader and he act his part well, I find him somewhat believeable. I dont like Yamapi so i can agree with you although i think he plays a quite good akira kusano in Nobuta and besides what they are all doing is not easy so i tend to forgive them when they stuff up some parts.
It's not a matter of like or dislike, I like Esumi Makiko but she's not a good actress.
Tomoya Nagase has 3 attitudes available in his registry, That's not being an actor. He can be very well used in what he can do but that doesn't make him a great actor... :scratch:

I agree on Abe Hiroshi, he can be convincing in some very different parts.

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Post by goygakgoy » Oct 17th, '06, 23:22

I don't think it's bad acting, but just different style. For example, in Western entertainment or Korean, you're supposed to pour your heart out when u tell a girl that u love her. In Japanese entertainment, if u observe a couple with no sound, u probably wouldn't know that one person confessed to another.

However, I do think the movies suck...not cuz of the acting, but cuz they're just bad...but then again, it's all about culture and style.

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Post by kidmigz » Oct 18th, '06, 00:13

I agree with most of groink's short list. For my own short list, I would also add Kanno Miho.

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Post by PocketKiriyama » Oct 18th, '06, 05:18

albertjlee wrote:you know, catwoman and elektra probably had good directors. hell jersey girl had a great director (kevin smith) yet that couldn't save the movie worth a damn. Movies and dramas are a packaged deal, when one is bad, it tends to make everything else bad. i.e. the directing, acting, and the screen play.

When people say "What can you expect? Your asking for too much." I do not comprehend. Are you willing to go to a concert without the singer, but in place, a big screen showing one of his lip synching proformances?

Chemistry is not needed for acting. It helps alot, but thats what they are paid to do, act. If they are good actors, they would have chemistry with a spoon. They take fake lives and express feelings and desires that are not real, and they make it real. People are saying, my standards are too high, but this is like watching an elementary play with a huge budget.

I'm starting to sound like a jackass which was something im not trying to do. I will watch my boss my hero, and tiger and dragon, and then i'll be a :cussing: or I will eat my words
Jay andy Silent Bob's the only movie I like by Kevin Smith.
The others were ok.
But I agree with you to some extent.
Gah.....why do I keep posting after a whole day's work..... :pale: :pale: :pale:

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Post by albertjlee » Oct 18th, '06, 06:36

You guys have it wrong to assume that I'm not in touch with japanese culture. I am a korean american, my understanding of korean is pretty good. I lived in korea for a cumulative of 3 years, taught english in china for 2 months, studied japanese for 2 years (I still suck), I watch a crapload of anime (watched more than 100+ series, all different from one another, ranging from romance to action to mystery; which portrays normal life in japan), and I live in california (one of the biggest melting pot areas in the US.) I'm very used to asian cinema.

People would hate to admit it, but korean and japanese culture still are very similar. They follow the same traditions. Bowing and speaking in a toned down manner towards elders, and all that jive.

By all means, I'm not trying to be a cultural anthropologist by explaining about the similarities and my experiences. What i was trying to get at is: I'm open to all types of culture and I don't really experience culture shock unless its vastly different from the asian/european culture.

John Wayne syndrom... I have heard of the term before, but in a very different context, lol. Although John Wayne played the same role every damn time, he led people to believe in what he was: cowboy, general, pilot, NRA spokemen... that is what made him an actor.

This thread is interesting, but I am confused, how is "good acting" defined? Is it when an actor can take on many different types of roles convincingly? Or when he or she makes us forget that they are ______ (actor's name) and instead makes us believe that they are ________ (character they are playing)? Or is it when they display some sort of mesmerizing effect onscreen such that we can't help but watch them... act?
I think having just one of those qualities would seperate an actor to a good actor. A great actor would have all of those and then some. It is very hard to seperate things that have no solid definitions or having to judge based on comparisons... I will give an example. If you see a little kid lying, and its blatent that they are telling a lie, that is a bad actor. If you see a little kid lying, and your not sure if it happened or not, thats pretty good acting. A good actor will make you believe.
If my example sucked and you don't understand, basically most of the japanese actors I have seen in the dramas so far are little kids who got caught lieing.

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Acting

Post by uezurii » Oct 18th, '06, 06:55

I was watching Kurosagi for the first time tonight, and I honestly couldn't get into it because I couldn't separate Yamapi and that outrageous "cool" look that he repeatedly did. It reminded me of Zoolander. Yet in Nobuta Wo Produce he was alright.

There's a lot of overacting in dramas, and also a lot of cliche, stock looks that characters give that you get used to. But sometimes an actor or actress comes along that you see in a bunch of dramas that can play extremely different characters. Matsumoto Jun comes to mind. Even though he's another one of those pretty face boys from Johnny's I think every role that I've seen him in (Kimi Wa Petto, Hana Yori Dango, Gokusen) has been pretty different. And he's done a nice job. Watching Hana Yori Dango and Kimi Wa Petto back to back was unsettling.

Anyway, the acting that you get often depends on what your looking for. And what kind of drama. Do people that watch dramas with lots of idols in them really care about anything other than their appearance? Do the producers care when they have some hack write it and make it trendy? Look for more dramas that are based on a really interesting story (Densha, Kimi, Gokusen, etc.,) or dramas based on genre. You'll be surprised when actor x from drama y is waaay better in drama z.

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Post by kidmigz » Oct 18th, '06, 07:33

I saw part of the first ep of Kurosagi on rerun while I was in Japan, and I was actually blown away by the bad acting. Both on the part of Yamapi and Horikita Maki... I was rather disappointed. Though most likely, the bigger problem was the script.

Sometimes, a script is good and the problem is that the roles have been mis-cast, and I find myself thinking of other actors who would've been perfect for the part. But other times, the script can be so bad that no matter which actors you got, it would never be believable.

As has been said, there isn't really an emphasis on actual acting ability. That said, I think there are several people who actually could be good actors, but you might not see it because of the roles they get. For example, I think Shibasaki Kou can act, but she sometimes gets roles where that ability doesn't matter. If I had only seen, say, Good Luck!! or the movie Kenchou no Hoshi, I would have just considered her to be an average actor.

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Re: Bad acting?

Post by mizune » Oct 19th, '06, 02:58

albertjlee wrote:Is it just I, that thinks that most of the japanese actresses/actors can not act? So far, every japanese movie and drama had bad acting. Is their any good dramas/movies you can recommend that has good acting? so far i've watched: densha otoko movie and series, GTO live action, H2, and battle royal. Tt seems like they just have pretty faces and no acting skills. Its a limited selection to base my assumptions so I am looking for suggestions.
my 2 cents from looking at the list that you've watched is that you've been following the mob mentality of what's popular to the general population here. not that it's a bad thing, but the demographics of the internet still skews pretty young, and tend to be more interested in "fun" dramas than anything else. there are a bunch of variables that play into what a fun drama is, but acting quality probably isn't one of them. ^_^;

before this turns into a recommendation thread for series with "good" acting, i'd just like to point my finger to the Recommended/Favorite Jdramas thread... :whistling:

carry on! :salut:

personally, the list of what you have seen all rank low in my opinion (for various reasons):fear:

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Post by Psygnius » Oct 19th, '06, 21:42

I used to think Japanese actors and actresses can not act for the life of them.... then I visited Japan. From my experience in Japan, and meeting the people there, and the way they respond to things, I realize that Japanese actors and actresses actually can act real well.

You know how in the dramas, a girl will go "Ehhhhhhh?!" very exaggerated, right? Well, people in Japan really do say things like that for that long in that exaggerated manner.

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Post by groink » Oct 19th, '06, 21:50

Psygnius wrote:I used to think Japanese actors and actresses can not act for the life of them.... then I visited Japan. From my experience in Japan, and meeting the people there, and the way they respond to things, I realize that Japanese actors and actresses actually can act real well.

You know how in the dramas, a girl will go "Ehhhhhhh?!" very exaggerated, right? Well, people in Japan really do say things like that for that long in that exaggerated manner.
100-percent exactly CORRECT. It's the culture that establishes how actors perform.

--- groink

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Post by albertjlee » Oct 21st, '06, 02:19

Psygnius wrote:I used to think Japanese actors and actresses can not act for the life of them.... then I visited Japan. From my experience in Japan, and meeting the people there, and the way they respond to things, I realize that Japanese actors and actresses actually can act real well.

You know how in the dramas, a girl will go "Ehhhhhhh?!" very exaggerated, right? Well, people in Japan really do say things like that for that long in that exaggerated manner.
Thats one point that I can't really fight against, myself never have been at japan, although I did have many japanese friends from japan. That being said, its not the "EHHHHHHH?" that makes me think they act really horrible, its the stiffness, the hesitations in their lines (when there should be no hesitation), the facial expressions, those are my points.

A good comparative to natural expresions are those reality t.v. programs. I.E. silent library, or the programs with razor ramon on them. The people who provide commentary, those are how people should be talking, yet I do not see that in dramas, just the list i provided above.
before this turns into a recommendation thread for series with "good" acting, i'd just like to point my finger to the Recommended/Favorite Jdramas thread...

carry on!

personally, the list of what you have seen all rank low in my opinion (for various reasons)
if you didn't notice, all the shows I have listed are on the recommended dramas thread. It is exactly why i concluded to the bad acting.

oh, and groink...
albertjlee wrote:
When people say "What can you expect? Your asking for too much." I do not comprehend. Are you willing to go to a concert without the singer, but in place, a big screen showing one of his lip synching proformances?

As a matter of fact, most Hello! Project and Johnny's concerts are 95-percent pre-recorded. Only their voices are live. But once again, everyone attending these concerts don't have a problem with it. Back in the 1980s, I attended a Tears for Fears concert... Boy was I disappointed... Two guys on stage, and virtually everything but the guitarist was MIDI'd.
I totally didn't see that. What I'm talking is on a bigger scale, as in Tears for Fears not even being there. Just a video of them being played at the concert of a previously recorded concert of them lip synching.

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Post by Psygnius » Oct 21st, '06, 03:00

You really shouldn't look at just dramas. That's like comparing all American actors to people in US soap operas. Movies are a better gauge to judge from. There are a lot of good and bad acting in movies, that it's much more balanced out. People like Ken Watanabe shows a fairly good dynamic acting range, while people like Jet Li is only a mediocre actor no matter what movie he plays in.

(BTW, Jet Li is a great martial artist, but his acting really isn't that good.)

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Post by babakubo » Oct 21st, '06, 21:25

I'm really enjoying reading this thread, it's given me some things to think about next time I say so-and-so is a good actor. :)

BTW, if you have A LOT of free time, you should check out one of the taiga dramas. They're perhaps the most respected series on Japanese TV and so actors/actresses take them much more seriously than any other work they do. Some have been hard on jpop idols' acting abilities, so I recommend checking out Yoshitsune. I'm watching it right now and I think Tackey in the title role does an incredible job for an idol singer. I haven't seen the current one with Nakama Yukie in the lead, but anyone know if her acting gets better here than Gokusen? :)

And while I didn't really like Orange Days, I'd recommend checking it out if you're just looking for some good acting . . at least, every scene involving the two main characters are acted incredibly well, considering that neither knew sign language before the show (or did they??)
applettt wrote: I never watch Odoru Daisousasen and i will do a search on it
You definitely should, it's arguably the most well known series in modern Japan, and is long overdue for JSOTW *hint hint*

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Post by albertjlee » Oct 22nd, '06, 06:41

hmmm, just finished hana yori dango(sp?) yes i know this would not be the best example of Japanese acting skills, yet I do like these fun dramas more than the serious ones.

I eat my words, Even though the supporting cast was kinda iffy, the lead actor/actress didn't do a bad job. I'm not looking for Emmy preformances, just acting that does not distract me from everything else.
You really shouldn't look at just dramas. That's like comparing all American actors to people in US soap operas. Movies are a better gauge to judge from. There are a lot of good and bad acting in movies, that it's much more balanced out. People like Ken Watanabe shows a fairly good dynamic acting range, while people like Jet Li is only a mediocre actor no matter what movie he plays in.

(BTW, Jet Li is a great martial artist, but his acting really isn't that good.)
Soap operas actors aren't bad... they just are not good. Movies are better gauges, but I like dramas... because they don't end within 2 hours; I like depth. That is probably hard to understand because of the crappy actors, but series give a little more time to kill, a little more to talk about... unless its a 3 part movie, i.e. godfather, LotR, SW... i just don't want things to end within 2-3hrs. Well i degress, soap opera actors/actress's still have some good people; the veterans and up and comming actors all get a start off soap operas, but they have to graduate to make it to prime time.

Dude/dudette, you have never seen Cradle 2 the Grave? lol, Jet li is a bad actor, but his fighting is top notch. There are certain cases where acting is 2nd fiddle to a special talent that can become greatness. I.E. singing and dancing, Whitney Houston (I have never seen her movies.)? Jidols(yet I do not see any jidols singing or dancing in their dramas :P)? there are certain exceptions of course that makes things acceptable. I'm sound like a hypocrite, but meh :P

Holy crap, i just checked out Yoshitsune on the torrents... I said i liked things being epic, but not this epic. XD

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Post by yukino2002 » Oct 22nd, '06, 09:51

This is a very interesting subject. I personally have a hard time deciding who I want to say is a good actor. Someone mentioned earlier that with actors like Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts, you never forget that it's them on the screen no matter what role they play. Other actors are convincing to the point that you forget it's them, and it's always the character you remember.
I guess for me, those are the actors that I respect and you can only get a sense of that when an actor has been in a lot of different roles. Ones that come to mind for me would be Tony Leung from 2046 and Johnny Depp.

I agree with many others that have commented that the cultural factor has a lot to do with how we gauge "good" and "bad" acting. With the culture that we grew up with, we can compare how people react in reality with how it shows up on screen. We can judge by saying "yeah, that's the way people act" or "no, that's really stiff." But with other cultures, we have a limited sense of how people really behave in real life. For me, even something that seems somewhat exxagerated from a western perspective can still be acceptable because maybe people do behave that way in Japan.

I liked the Eeeeehhhhh~ example by the way.
:D

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Post by 20centuryboy » Oct 22nd, '06, 10:18

Yes, acting skills are difficult to discuss because because, there is the "technical" thing like having the good rythm when speaking or being not too heavy on the attitudes, etc... but that's not everything.
Some professional photographers will tell you some people don't look good on a picture, it's not that they're specifically ugly or anything, just,they don't "hook" the camera. On the opposite, some peope who look just average in real life real catch up the light under the cameras.
I heard an acting teacher say that for some people, whatever they do, no matter how much lessons they take, they will allways sound "fake". Some other have a kind of acting gift.
I think, being a good actor is anyone who can play a part. Of course, the acors who can play anything and really change their personnality are impressive but even some "stars" who mix a lot of their personnality to their part are really good actors to me. For example, Eastwood has never been praised for his acting, but if you look at the scene of the mirror in "absolute power", he can show a lot of emotions just with his eyes, that's really good acting to me. Or if you take Tom Cruise, in "magnolia", he is absolutely incredible as an actor.

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Post by jica » Oct 22nd, '06, 14:11

So many good points and comments. =)

What is bad acting and what is good acting? Isn't that due to cultural preferences but also to personal tastes and likings? For me it is when the actor/actress makes me believe he/she is in that way in reality, that he is his character. Also, that I can feel with the character, it's a human being, having feelings and reasons to act like he/she does. As in all cultures (movies, dramas, soap operas) there are bad and good actors. Bad acting is IMHO when the actors are too stiff, can't deliver the feelings he is supposed to act, gives emotionless lines, is too aware of the camera or seems to be distracted by the surrounding (cameo roles often seems to be like that ^^;). Generally, I don't think Japanese actors are worser than other. Some shine, some don't. When it comes to dramas... you can't have the expectations that those is showing real life. People can act in a certain way in a certain situation, but not always are they doing what you expect. It's a drama, to entertain you, not always convincing but it's still entertaining.

Sometimes I think actors in jdramas act like they're in a manga. When I watch that I find it so fake... in the beginning I thought it was really bad. But that's the way it is in the drama world. If you act that exaggerated irl, people WILL think you're insane. But in the drama world, everybody just accepts it.

Though I have to admit that good acting isn't the main reason why I watch jdramas. I just like the way jdramas are done and shot and the way the Japanese actors are on screen. For example, when it comes to romance, there's maybe not much kiss or sex scenes, the mood is more subtle; eye contacts, feelings, surroundings, and you have to imagine a lot by yourself, everything isn't shown. Western products are more obvious. After having delivered a message in the show, in the end, they think you still don't understand, so they have someone telling you clearly what you should have received in the show/movie/episode. And all those sex scenes.... I'm not saying that I'm prudish, but sometimes it's not even necessary... too much makes it lose its effect... (sorry, I feel I'm being a bit off-topic here... T_T)

And I agree that most people watch the dramas mainly because of the actors/actresses, not because of the plot. I do. :whistling:
My favourite actor is Kamenashi Kazuya and I know a lot of people think he sucks at acting. But I think he is good, mainly because I like him. So I watch every drama he's in, no matter genre. I have to say I don't really like every drama, but I still watch (because I'm a genuine fangirl...? *lol*) Kame acts every character as himself, but different parts of himself. That's one reason I think he's good, because he "shares" glimpses of himself. I think that you can see a bit of every actor in their roles. I still don't think that he is exactly the same in every role, you can still tell the difference from drama to drama. Btw, I really think that Nobuta wo Produce is a good drama. Acting, plot, shooting, soundtracks. Everything. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Talk about acting, I think that Garasu no Kamen is quite interesting, it's a drama about a girl wanting to be an actress. Maybe the main character (Adachi Yumi - I think she's great :P) isn't a great actress in some's opinion, but she makes you believe she is a great actress in the drama. 8)

Hontouni gome, I didn't intend to write this much at the first place.... :-(

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Post by 20centuryboy » Oct 22nd, '06, 14:57

jica wrote: My favourite actor is Kamenashi Kazuya and I know a lot of people think he sucks at acting. But I think he is good, mainly because I like him. So I watch every drama he's in, no matter genre. I have to say I don't really like every drama, but I still watch (because I'm a genuine fangirl...? *lol*) Kame acts every character as himself, but different parts of himself. That's one reason I think he's good, because he "shares" glimpses of himself. I think that you can see a bit of every actor in their roles. I still don't think that he is exactly the same in every role, you can still tell the difference from drama to drama. Btw, I really think that Nobuta wo Produce is a good drama. Acting, plot, shooting, soundtracks. Everything. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
I wouldn't say that Kame "sucks" as his acting won't ruin a drama like Tackey or Matsumoto jun can do but he's very "limited" in his possibilities. He can mostly play the "kimu Taku" introverted guy but even when has to cry or show some deep emotions it shows his limitations.

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Post by juki » Oct 22nd, '06, 15:22

jica wrote:Btw, I really think that Nobuta wo Produce is a good drama. Acting, plot, shooting, soundtracks. Everything. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
That's the main reason I enjoy every drama I watch. Technically, according to me, dramas are far away from common american soap opera. Shooting and lights are almost everytime very good. And so is the music. That's kind of music you can listen to for a while after the end of the drama (I'm thinking about Ichi rittoru no namida and Hana yori dango there).
Dramas are also made for 11 ep. so the scenario is totally written and directors know where they are going to.

I think everyone can like dramas if they first find a drama that make them feel something and that's not just a question of good or bad acting (of course if you can't bear the japanese language and the usual expressions little overacted, according to the western culture, like "ehhhh" or "bbaaakkaa", it would be more difficult :P ).

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Post by stretch-wings » Oct 22nd, '06, 17:36

I think it's depends on the culture aspect. Japanese's manner is different from western's, so what you might think is bad acting could be how Japanese accually act like in real life.

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who do you think is not good at acting ?

Post by santaclaus » Dec 12th, '08, 18:36

矢田亜希子

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Post by hateytb » Dec 12th, '08, 22:07

this kind of topic just keep coming dont they~~

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Post by bmwracer » Dec 12th, '08, 22:25

hateytb wrote:this kind of topic just keep coming dont they~~
Yup.

Where are the moderators?

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Post by groink » Dec 13th, '08, 02:11

????? The topic is over two years old.

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Post by mizune » Dec 13th, '08, 03:33

bmwracer wrote: Where are the moderators?
Here?
Didn't have a problem with it before, don't have a problem with it now...
As long as there's some actual discussion going on (not flaming), ppl are welcome to post their viewpoints.

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