Take equal parts Good Luck and Attention Please and throw in a touch of Hotelier and you have the Japanese drama from the early '00's called Big Wing. This drama starred the guy from Shota no Sushi, which I loved, and a girl which I know I've seen before but can't think of her name. Anyway, the episodes were mostly self contained, except for the final 2 episodes. Basically, this drama is about a group of workers in Haneda airport near Tokyo. They work at the airport, helping people at the tour desk, giving directions, helping passengers etc. The drama centers around Kumiko, who joins the company because it's been her dream since she was actually born there. This girl really cares about satisfying the customers, so she goes to great lengths to help people who she thinks might be in trouble. Whether it's repairing family relationships, returning a lost child to her mother or taking an ill passenger on a tour of Tokyo, she tries very hard, so hard that the other employees hate her for making them look bad. Often she interferes in things she shouldn't be interfering in, so there are some comedy elements as well. I did enjoy this drama, though I wouldn't recommend going out of my way to watch it. Kind of predictable, but if you enjoyed Good Luck or Attention Please or are a fan of Takashi Kashiwabara, this is worth a watch. Rating: 7.2/10

Last Christmas is a Japanese drama from the early 00's that stars Oda Yuji. I was familiar with him from Tokyo Love Story, which I loved, but was very upset by the horrible ending. Perhaps that played a part in me not enjoying this drama too much. I had read lots of great reviews of this drama, so was definitely looking forward to it. I even decided to start watching it a couple days before Christmas last year to really get into the spirit of it. So that fact that I didn't bother finishing it until June, 6 months, later tells the story of how much I enjoyed this one. That said, I did very much enjoy the supporting characters and their love stories. The story with Tamaki Hiroshi and his on again/off again romance with the character Ritsuko was good. Tamaki Hiroshi is quite a good actor, and I've see him play a wide range of characters so far, all convincingly. Not the easiest thing to do! The other love story was between the amazing Moriyama Mirai, who I remember fondly from Waterboys, and Megumi's character, who doesn't want to marry for love, but for money. Mainly so she can take care of her family, and she makes no secret of it! There's also the boss man, played well by Ihara Tsuyoshi, who I have also seen in many other dramas, perhaps most notably Love & Fight, which happens to be a favorite of mine.

Anyway, about the drama. It's basically a love story. Only of course this love story has to have the "dying of an illness" twist, which I am supremely tired of, especially coming off watching Korean dramas like Stairway to Heaven and Snow Queen which seriously know how to do the "dying" twist. I think that after you have seen Crying Out Love in the Center of the World, with Ayase Haruka and Yamada Takayuki or even Beautiful Life or any of the many Korean dramas with this twist, you can never enjoy one again, and I didn't. However, if you've never seen these other dramas I have talked about, Last Christmas will probably be right up your alley. It was a pretty good love story overall and the holiday theme was nice. I was surprised at the ending... which I thought would be predictable, but it wasn't! Overall, a good drama, but I didn't enjoy it as much due to dramas I have seen recently with the same types of themes. Also, I did enjoy the Christmas music they played throughout. I never, ever thought I'd enjoy a Wham! song. Rating: 7.9/10

Bodyguard is a Korean drama about a nice guy who can't turn down anyone who needs help. This drama is 22 episodes, with a bit of action, car chases, fighting sequences, murder, kidnapping, extortion, corruption, a love triangle, political intrigue, comedy, rock solid and longtime friendships... there's just a lot going on in this drama. And that is the main problem with this series, there are too many concurrent storylines going on.

Basically, the main character jumps from job to job, usually quitting because he doesn't like the boss or can't stand taking orders from anyone. Finally, he becomes a bodyguard and decides that is his calling. The story revolves around him and this girl who he is trying to protect, since she happens to be the illegitimate daughter of a presidential candidate. Of course, if anyone finds out this fact, his political career is over, so many people try very hard to keep this secret, resorting to murder, kidnapping, burglary, assault, you name it.

SPOILERISH STUFF BELOW ---

What shocked me the most was the ending. It just kind of stops like a regular episode, leaving some stories hanging. No closure! I was very surprised it ended like that. Also, near the middle, I found myself getting into the love triangle. I was rooting for Park Yu-Jin to be with Kyung-tak, yet the guy is so dense and so one dimensional that he never shows ANY interest in ANY woman whatsoever throughout the entire series. Is he a puritan or asexual? Regardless, he was a poorly written, one dimensional character with nothing going on in his brain besides protect people. You see little to no emotion from this character and he's the main character! Perhaps it was the actor? I don't know. They had two girls fall in love with him and they both know that the other one is also in love with him, yet NOTHING comes of it, AT ALL! I wonder why they bothered with it.

---

Anyway, the supporting cast was far better and quite excellent. The woman who plays Park Yu-Jin played her part perfectly, with a cold as ice exterior but with tenderness and vulnerability just below the surface. She was certainly the most complex character and my favorite, by far. Also, both parents, his sister, longtime friend Man-bok, Han Sung Soo, Captain Choi, even spoiled brat Sin-ae were far superior actors and characters. The other weak part of the cast was Na-young. She's supposed to be 20 years old, yet the actress plays her like a meak, weakling of a little girl of 15. I was not a fan of this character at all.

Overall, this was an entertaining enough action/comedy drama, but with lots of holes in the story and some poor writing. Rating: 7.1/10

Shopping Hero is basically an offbeat workplace drama with some romance and comedy mixed in. It centers around the Paradise Corporation, who films a shopping infomercial type show every Friday night, live. So we have Makoto, the shy, unassuming office worker who works in the complaints department. Then we have Yuka, who is a star presenter. One night, Yuka isn't able to make it to the live show, so Makoto dresses up in a hat, cape and mask and becomes SHOPPING HERO to replace Yuka. Shopping Hero presents Yuka's product and it goes on to sell very well, leading to a regular segment for him. His real identity as Makoto remains anonymous thanks to the president of the corporation. Every week, someone in the cast of characters has a problem, whether it's about work, family, friends, love or whatever. Then Shopping Hero addresses the problem each week in his segment along with the sales pitch. So, there is a moral to each episode. Kind of like 80's American sitcoms! The star is Nakamura Shinsuke with a stellar supporting cast that includes Kawahara Ayako and even a pre-Nodame Cantabile Tamaki Hiroshi in a smaller role. I found this drama enjoyable enough. It had funny moments and it did make you root for Shopping Hero to get the girl, so to speak. It also had plenty of touching moments. That said, it is a lightweight drama, not the kind you find yourself needing to watch many episodes back to back because you can't wait to see what happens next. Rather, it is a nice break if you've just watched a serious or depressing drama. Rating: 7.2/10

Golden Bowl is a drama that stars Takeshi Kaneshiro as a bowler. The story is basically about him and his bowling partner, they fall in love slowly over the course of the episodes, with a backdrop of them and the bowling alley employees trying to save the bowling alley from a developer. It's a romantic comedy and probably one of the best Japanese romantic comedies that I have seen yet. Though to be honest, I haven't seen very many, in fact, I don't think there are that many! The Japanese don't make too many of them. Anyway, I really enjoyed this drama. It was one of those dramas where you really can't wait to see the next episode. Takeshi Kaneshiro was wonderful in it and so was Kuroki Hitomi and the supporting cast was just as good, loaded with lots of quirky, funny characters that you're bound to get attached to. I also liked that this was more believable than some dramas, sure there was a silly element, but I don't think it took away from overall believability. I also thought it had a good ending. If you're looking for something different, something quirky, loaded with charm, and just plain fun, try Golden Bowl. Rating: 8.8/10

This drama stars one of my favorite actors, Yutaka Takenouchi and also Miki Nakatani. The story is complicated. They both grew up in an orphanage on an island near Okinawa. The group of friends has now grown up and lives in Tokyo. All except for Haru, played by Miki Nakatani, who never left the island. Once her adopted mother dies, she decides to leave the island and go to Tokyo. She wants to meet up with her old friends from the orphanage. One friend is an aspiring actress, another a lawyer, and Yutaka's character, who she has always had feelings for, is a boxer. The story is based around the rekindling of the relationship between Haru and Ryo. It's a nice romantic drama, nothing groundbreaking here. Yutaka is great as always, but the story is lacking a little. There's a number of standard jdrama style story elements, like getting hit by a car and the usual revenge subplot, as well as the way too often used, "they might be brother and sister" storyline. I don't know why dramas use this story technique so often, it's quite odd and turns you off of any romantic element that was developing. The end was rather abrupt as well. This one was just ok to me. 7.4/10

This drama is about a guy who is at his friends "marriage ceremony", which I guess is like their wedding party or announcement? Because the actual wedding is supposed to take place later. Anyway, the guy is standing there with his friends and realizes he still loves the girl who is getting married. He's always loved her but he never told her. They've been best friends since they were quite young. Ok, so the guy is standing there at the wedding ceremony when they run a slideshow of old pictures from their school days. So, during this time, the guy is wishing he could go back and change the past, where he could win the heart of the girl and marry her instead. Magically, it happens and all of a sudden he is transported to the past, when the girl is manager of their baseball club and they are in the same classes together. He now has a chance to change the past. They go back and forth a bit between the present and past and each time, the guy is standing there at the marriage ceremony and he says "Hallelujah Chance!" and all of a sudden he's in the past. Dear lord, that is dumb, but it wouldn't be so bad if the guy could act. Don't get me wrong, I like Yamapi, he's cute enough. I like my eye candy as much as anyone. However, you can't say he's a good actor. He's terrible. His facial expressions tell the tale. There is no difference between his facial expressions when he's sad, mad, happy, moody, brooding, etc. His acting consists of one look on his face, he injects no personality into the parts he plays. He does bad enough to pretty much ruin this drama, since this drama requires an actor that can show complex emotions. I can imagine what this drama would have been like with Yamada Takayuki in it instead. It would have been fantastic. He could play this part with ease and make you believe it. With the whole time travel aspect, this drama requires someone with real ability to keep you believing the story. Yamapi has no acting ability. He's perfect in parts like he had in Nobuta wo Produce or Dragonzakura, where he could just brood and not have to worry about playing different emotions. He was fine in those, but put him in a drama that requires real acting and you have a disaster. The rest of the cast is fine in their parts, Fujiki Naohito is always good and the actresses do their best to play off of Yamapi. It's a real shame that this guy keeps getting plum roles in dramas when there are so many better actors out there. Even with all the poor acting coming from the rest of the Johnny's boys, they can all do better than Yamapi. Yes, even Takizawa Hideaki. Even he's a better actor. This could have been a good drama, but sadly no. 6.7/10

Ok, so I've watched MANY dramas over the last year and most of them I have not posted a review for... so here we go. I'm going to review and rate each one that I've seen. I will try to avoid anything spoilerish... so I will try to keep it a bit vague and give my overall thoughts on the series:

Karei Naru Ichizoku - This is the last Kimura Takuya drama before CHANGE. Basically, it's a period drama about a rich family who is in the steel and banking businesses. There is a lot of inter-family drama, which is the centerpiece of it all. The man who played the father was amazingly good in his part, in the final episode especially. Kimura Takuya does an acceptable job as well. The gist of it is that the father hates and resents the oldest son for some reason, which Kimura's character can't figure out. This whole secret, as well as the drama surrounding the steel factory is the base for the story. I thought it was very good up until the last couple episodes, then it really took off and turned into a great, dark, tragic and twisted drama. This is not one for teen fans of cute guys, this is a very serious adult drama, with zero humor. The final episode put this drama over the top for me. It does drag somewhat in the first episodes, but patient viewers are greatly rewarded. 9.1/10

Akimahende - This is a family drama with some romance and comedy. Loved the older romantic heroine. Basically two people find each other again after 40 years or so and the man asks the woman to marry him. She says she will, but only if his family will accept her. So she goes to live with them as their maid, unbeknownst to them, she is actually their father's fiance. I found the first episode quite enjoyable, very funny and really pulls you in to the characters lives. Unfortunately, this is the high point of the series, it really fizzles out after that and turns out to be a let down. I'm sure the Arashi fans will enjoy this poor drama since it has Ninomiya Kazunari in it, but he sucks in it too. 5.9/10

Beauty Or Beast - Matsushima Nanako and Fukuyama Masaharu star in this workplace drama about a group of people who put together the evening news. This was a rather lightweight drama, not really venturing into the personal lives of the stars. It's more about the daily going's on, decision making, morality and the delicate balance between bringing people the news and bringing in the ratings. It was good, not great. Just didn't have enough substance for me. 7.7/10

Concerto - This is an early Kimura Takuya drama. Quite serious, very adult drama about a sort of love triangle, but it's equally about the journey of two men in the same profession. One man is on his way up, showing much promise and possibility. The other man is older and already at the top of his profession, so there is only one way for him to go now, and that is down. One very interesting thing about this drama is the friendship that develops between the two men, a sort of friendly competition/rivalry for success and love. Their friendship gets tested, for sure, but never gets nasty. There is always a tremendous respect for each other. This all makes for a great story. I don't know whether I enjoyed the love triangle or the business rivalry or the friendship more. Highly enjoyable and highly recommended for anyone who enjoys complex adult dramas. Kudos to Tameru Masakazu, he's amazing in it. I found the ending quite satisfying as well, if open ended. 9.7/10

Istumo Futari De - This is a romantic drama with Matsu Takako and Sakaguchi Kenji. Eita plays a supporting part and I always enjoy him. It's about a woman who is a fledgling writer, she lives in the country. One day, a man from a publishing company comes to see her. This man says his company wants to publish the book she sent them. She's excited, thinking it's her big break. So, she moves to Tokyo to become a writer. When she gets there, she gets a rude awakening. It was a mistake by the publishing company, they didn't really want her book. So, she's stuck in Tokyo, not knowing where to go. She ends up staying with a friend from high school who now lives in Tokyo and works in TV. That's the basic premise. It was very well written and acted. A very good romantic drama/love triangle with excellent acting by Matsu Takako. Highly recommended if you like romantic dramas. 8.7/10

Konna Koi no Hanashi - This was a drama that pulls you in very quickly. Two men are in a doctor's office. One man is shown being told that he is dying and only has 6 months to live. We learn that he's a rich and powerful business man. Another man, a poor, working class man has a non-serious stomach problem and he's going to be fine. The two men meet while leaving the office. The poor man asks the rich man to borrow money to pay his doctor bill. Due to this fateful meeting, the two men become friends, sort of. This drama is not a sad one, like so many of those "dying of a disease" dramas are, but this one is uplifting. Great lessons to be learned about love, friendship and morality here. A wonderful drama for anyone. Great theme song by Tamaki Koji! 9.3/10

To Heart - To Heart is a romantic drama with Dohmoto Tsuyoshi of Kinki Kids. He's very good in it, can't say the same for the girl though. She's pretty bad. Her "crying" was terrible. That said, I found it enjoyable to a certain extent. This is more of a predictable, lightweight teen style romance. 7.6/10

L'oiseau Bleu - A tragic, epic, romantic drama. It's about a man and woman who meet at a train station. The guy is the station master. The woman has a little girl. The guy becomes close with the little girl and the woman. Of course, the woman is married to a man who is important in the town, and it's a loveless marriage, she hates the guy and the little girl can't stand him. They'd both rather have the station master. I won't say anymore so as not to spoil anything, but it gets good. Really good. This is like one of those Lifetime movies, except good. Looking for a dark, epic romantic drama? This is the one for you. 9.3/10

Oyaji - Oyaji stars Tameru Masakazu as a neighborhood doctor. He has a family, a wife, two daughters and a son. However, he's overbearing, stubborn, difficult and meddling. He's only like this because he loves his family so much, but it also drives them away. I enjoyed this one, it had some lighthearted, funny moments and some wacky supporting characters. However, the main theme to this drama is family, how you must accept them for who they are, accept their decisions and mistakes and still love them. This was a very good family drama and Tameru Masakazu was wonderful as usual. 8.1/10

Ruri no Shima - This is a very touching, heartwarming drama about a bunch of people who live on an island. Basically, the people who live on this island are all older people and the last child recently moved away. The residents are scared that if the school is closed because there are no children to attend, the island will slowly die out as no new people will want to live there. So, to save the island, one of the residents goes to Tokyo to try and get a foster child to live on the island. He comes back with a little girl named Ruri. Ruri doesn't take to the island right away, but she eventually settles in and comes to love the island dearly and call it home. One of my favorite actors Yutaka Takenouchi is in this, but his part isn't the central character. This was a very good drama, well made with excellent acting all around. 9.1/10

Searchin' For My Polestar - This drama has an all star cast, from Sakaguchi Kenji to Hideaki Ito to Koyuki to Joe Odagiri. It's about a group of friends, several years after their college graduation. The story isn't as good as the stars. There were too many instances of poor writing and too much overacting. Quite corny too. However, if you can suspend your disbelief or if you are a fan of any of the actors, you'll find it at least a reasonably enjoyable drama about friendship. 7.6/10

With Love - Another drama with Yutaka Takenouchi. I must say that he looks particularly hot in this one. This drama is about two people who work in the same building. One works at a bank, the other works as a composer of songs for commercials. The composer has a music studio set up in his home, with a computer. One day, he accidentally sends his finished commercial song to the wrong email address. He sends it to the bank teller who works in his building and who he has met very briefly. She opens the email and falls in love with the tune. So she decides to write back to the composer. This begins a series of emails back and forth between the two. It all gets very existential, when they ponder the meaning of life, love, the world etc. At times, they are talking with each other about their experiences with each other in the real world, only they don't know it. Naturally, they fall in love with the person they have been emailing. Will they find out who each other is? Will they meet? Will they still love each other in real life? Overall, I enjoyed this drama, but the amount of coincidences in it are absolutely and totally unbelievable. Just too many coincidences and that hurts the believability for me. The ending is REALLY corny... OMG. Still, I watched the whole thing and it was enjoyable. Even just the suspense as to what happens when/if they ever do meet is enough to keep you watching. If you like Yutaka and if you like romantic dramas, you'll probably like this offbeat type of email romance. 7.8/10

Ace no Warae - This is basically a carbon copy of Attack No. 1, another Ueto Aya vehicle to get ratings. It's the usual overcome the odds to become a success type story, except this is about tennis, not volleyball. Enjoyable if you like Ueto Aya. I'm a sucker for this simple type of drama and I don't mind Ueto Aya, I think she's improving as an actress. 7.2/10

Unfair - This is a police/crime drama about a female detective played by Ryoko Shinohara and her partner played by Eita. The story centers around one particular case that involves a killer who leaves a message with the bodies that asks "Who's Unfair?". If you like police/crime dramas, this is a good one. You delve into the personal lives of the two main characters a bit, as they become involved. Good acting with a great twist at the end. Enjoyable! 8.3/10

Remote - Here is another police/crime drama. This one with the other half of Kinki Kids, Dohmoto Koichi and Fukada Kyoko. This one involves a detective who, due to a past trauma, won't leave his home. He remotely controls his assistants in solving crimes. I like the general premise. It's kind of a fun drama to watch. Though, again Fukada Kyoko is not a great actress. Still, it was entertaining enough. 7.6/10

Egao no Hosoku - This was a lightweight, sort of workplace style drama with two of my favorite actors, Abe Hiroshi and Yuko Takeuchi. This one is about a woman who is out of work, so she goes to interview for a job at a publishing company. When she is there, Abe Hiroshi's character is also there, he sees her and demands that she be his assistant while he is away at a resort. He is sent away to write/draw a new manga series, so he needs to be free of distractions. In addition, a rival publishing company is after him, and with his tendency to never say no to anyone, he has to be sort of chaperoned. So, in comes Yuko's character. This is about their time at that resort and his trials in creating a new manga. Very lightweight story, doesn't really give us much insight into the characters. The story doesn't really go anywhere. At one point, it seems to be developing into a love story, but then it's sort of dropped. Kind of a forgettable drama, it was just ok. 7.0/10

Korean Dramas

I've recently been getting into Korean dramas. There is quite a difference between the Japanese and Korean series. Very different. The Korean dramas are almost like extremely long movies. The quality is quite high from what I have seen. Here's my review of the two Korean dramas that I have seen completely:

Winter Sonata - A star crossed love story, love triangle sort of thing. Slow at times, that's for sure. I feel like they drew this one out a bit too long. 20 1 hour episodes is loooong. However, this makes the ending that much sweeter. If you can throw yourself into this drama, learn to love/hate the characters, you will certainly enjoy this one. After seeing Winter Sonata, I don't think I can ever go back to American soap operas. Part of the enjoyment is due to the music. Fantastic songs throughout every episode. After about a dozen episodes, I actually came to enjoy how slow it is. It took its time to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion. Though, it's not perfect. If you enjoy love stories... this is for you. 9.0/10

Country Princess - This drama starts out with a woman trudging across a snowy farmland. She collapses. A farmer finds her and takes her to his home. She's not well. In fact, she's pregnant and in labor. His wife is also in labor. The two women lay on the floor giving birth. Both give birth to healthy girls. The farmer's wife is fine, but the other woman dies after childbirth. The couple raises the girl as their own. Though the mother resents having to raise another woman's child and treats the girl unfairly, making her work in the fields and do all the chores. When the real daughter wants to go to college, the mother makes the girl quit school so she can work to pay for the real daughter's tuition. When a boy falls in love with the girl, the real daughter gets jealous and accidentally causes a fire in which their father dies. The real daughter lets the other girl take the blame, letting the mother think that the other girl killed her husband. One day, a man comes to the house. He's looking for his granddaughter. He's a wealthy man, so out of spite and resentment, she tells the man that her real daughter is the daughter that his son's pregnant girlfriend gave birth to on that fateful night. The real daughter takes the life that was meant for the other girl... and so begins a fantastic drama, heartbreaking, touching, hilarious, tragic and totally amazing! Highly, highly, highly recommended! 9.8/10

Who are the best actors in Japanese dramas today? I bet if I ask 20 Jdrama fans, I'll get 20 different answers. Here's my list, based on the dramas that I've seen (about 70):

1. Tsutsumi Shinichi - I first saw this fine actor in Good Luck, opposite Kimura Takuya. He played the cold and seemingly heartless Captain Koda, Takuya's nemesis through most of the program. What a surprise when I saw him next in Yamato Nadeshiko as a modest, even bumbling fishmonger. Then seeing him in Lunch Queen as the sniveling fool of a brother. Has any actor played so many diverse roles, and so completely convincing in each? If there is, I haven't seen him.
2. Abe Hiroshi - Here is another actor who can play any role thrown at him. From the great comedy timing of the Trick series, to the supporting character roles in Antique, Hero and My Little Chef, to the leading man in Dragonzakura and Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, he can play serious or comedy with ease, but he excels most at comedy.
3. Yamada Takayuki - I first saw him in Waterboys, but his role in Sekai No Chuushin De, Ai Wo Sakebu is the role that made me a fan. Such a range of emotion in this young man, few actors can cry so convincingly. He made me cry along with him through his heartbreak. This is a young actor with great potential.
4. Takenouchi Yukata - I first saw him in Long Vacation, but his role as the unstable and obsessive doctor in Heaven's Coins is what really got my attention. He's good looking, but offers much more than that. He plays anger, jealousy and rage beautifully but can turn on the charm in an instant. You can never be sure what hides behind those eyes and that's what makes him effective in his roles.
5. Satoshi Tsumabuki - From Orange Days to Slow Dance, this fine young actor has good looks that will take him far, but his real talent is his acting ability. He has an ordinary young guy presence, which makes his acting very believable in romantic, supporting or dramatic roles.

Honorable mentions:

Kubozuka Yosuke - From the crazy haired, charismatic gang leader in IWGP to the leading romantic role in the sci-fi Long Love Letter to the cocky kid in GTO, this bad boy actor is Japan's answer to young Marlon Brando. Too bad he's supposedly given up acting to be a reggae singer, the Jdrama scene needs a rebel like him.
Kimura Takuya - The king of dramas seems to play the same type of roles over and over, but he's grown tremendously from his Long Vacation/Love Generation days, and has grown be an exceptional actor who can display a good range of emotion. Due to his popularity, he seems to get the best writing, directing and supporting cast that surely helps him to be even better.

So, who am I missing?

In no particular order:

+ Hot guys! From Kimura Takuya to Jun Matsumoto, from Yamashita Tomohisa to Hideaki Takizawa and on and on. There's ALOT of hot guys in dramas, the eye candy is plenty of reason to watch right there.

+ Great music! So many dramas have great music and themes. Densha Otoko for example, makes great use of songs, including Mr. Roboto and Twilight, both American songs from decades past. They fit perfectly though. The list of dramas with great music is too long to type. Whether as the intro song, the ending theme or played in the middle, when you finish a great drama, you sometimes have to go out and find that certain MP3 immediately, just to keep that feeling alive. I'd cite Long Vacation's theme song and Waterboys fantastic theme song as great examples of this.

+ Melodrama! So many dramas are soapy, I think American soaps have lost their way as far as bringing the believable melodrama to the screen. They could learn so much from the Japanese dramas. I just love the Japanese style of melodrama.

+ Hot guys! Did I mention hot guys? There are alot.

+ Location! Whether it's in Tokyo or the Japanese countryside or a seaside town, the locations they use are often stunning and add to the dramatic effect.

+ Variety! There's alot of different types of stories being told in dramas. From comedy, romance, sports, mystery, etc. There's alot of different types of dramas, and it's nice to watch something completely different than the last drama you watched.

+ Character development! Japanese dramas take the time to develop characters much more fully than US dramas. This is such an important thing, because if they don't make me care about the characters, they've got nothing.

+ Plot! I love the fact that there is a set beginning, middle and end to dramas, unlike US shows that can go on for years and years.

+ Supporting characters! There are so many great supporting actors and actresses in dramas, some of them you can't help but notice again and again and they really help to anchor the entire drama. I'd cite the actress who played the coldhearted flight attendant instructor from Attention Please and the bar owner in Boku Dake no Madonna as a great example of stellar supporting acting.

+ Pace! For some dramas, it's annoyingly slow, but for the good ones it's just right. Some might say Long Vacation can be a bit slow at times, but I think it perfectly sets the tone for the story and the pace only enhances it.

Those are my top 10 best things about Japanese dramas.

In no particular order:

+ Running! Some characters run to see someone when they've just found out something or realized something. I guess the writers put it in for dramatic effect, but sometimes it seems a bit silly and unrealistic. Such as in Boku Dake no Madonna, when Kyon is running to find Surumi and he runs for blocks and blocks and he doesn't seem to sweat much or get tired or out of breath.

+ Accidents! Why do they seem to use the same type of accident over and over for dramatic effect? I'm sure there are people who get run over every year in Tokyo, but come on, not THAT many. Seems a bit much. I cite examples from Summer Snow and Attack No. 1, almost the exact same accident happens in these two extremely different dramas! I could also cite the end to Kimi wa Petto as well, but at least that turned out differently.

+ Grunting! Maybe it's a Japanese thing, but some characters seem to grunt or mmm-hmmm alot instead of saying yes.

+ Formulaic! Certain types of dramas seem to follow a very forumulaic storyline. There seems to be alot of the high school dramas with people overcoming the odds.

+ Predictability! For some dramas I can predict far too easily what will happen at the end.

+ Corniness!!! I can cite many examples of this, so many dramas have too much corniness. The kind of corniness that damages the believability and realism they were building up for the rest of the drama. Best example of this type of corniness is in Be Nice To People, especially at the end.

+ Unsatisfying endings! Tokyo Love Story! That's all I'm saying.

+ Inappropriate music! Summer Snow is the best example. So sad, then the ending music comes on, oh eh oh eh what's up come on!!! Totally innappropriate. A Sleeping Forest is also a good example of this, the intro song just doesn't fit the characters walking around in the forest being all mysterious. Too sappy.

+ Pace! Probably the #1 complaint would have to be the pace of some dramas. When the writers only have enough story for 6 or 7 episodes, they still draw it out to 10 or 11.

+ Incomprehensible stories! Some stories are hard to understand, I'd cite Antique Cake Store and Tiger and Dragon for this... I still don't quite get what they were about!

Well, those are my top 10 annoying things about Japanese dramas.

I have collected quite a few dramas over the last year or so mainly from distros and such. I'm now open to trading for dramas I don't have. Here is my list of Japanese TV dramas for trade:
Beautiful Life
A Sleeping Forest
Long Vacation
Waterboys
Love Generation
Pride
Hero
Summer Snow
Good Luck
Gokusen
Hana Yori Dango
Kimi wa Petto
Engine
Densha Otoko
Nobuta Wo Produce
Kindaichi
Orange Days
Dragonzakura
Flowers For Aruganon
Crying Out In The Center Of The World
Strawberry On The Shortcake
Amakara 1/2 (Food Travel Show)
Antique Cake Store
Yamato Nadeshiko
Boku Dake No Madonna
Be Nice To People
Beach Boys (DIVX low quality)
Tokyo Love Story
Koi ni Ochitara
Attention Please
Attack No. 1
Kurosagi
Kisarazu Cat's Eye
Tiger & Dragon
My Boss My Hero
Food Fight
Ame to Yume No Atoni

Most are on 2 DVD sets, but some are on up to 4 DVD's. I'll trade drama to drama, since most are 9-12 episodes. My bandwidth is limited so I can't download torrents or big files. If you want any other info on any of these dramas, quality, length etc. just ask. Thanks for looking.

I'm interested in trading for Jdramas I don't have, but am also interested in any good Korean dramas. Specific wants (ENGLISH subtitled please!):
Mukodono
1 Million Stars Falling From The Sky
Gokusen 2
Stand Up
Kou Kou Kyoushi 2003
Dekichatta Kekkon
Love Revolution
Lunch Queen
Trick
Ace no Nerae
My Little Chef
Satorare
Tokyo Tower
Long Love Letter
Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Satomi Hakenden
Hero (2006 Special)

Here are my thoughts on the latest Jdramas I have seen:

My Boss My Hero
Very funny and touching high school drama. A nice twist on the usual high school drama and yakuza type stories. The actor who plays "Makky" wasn't bad at all. This drama had its corny, over the top (literally) and ridiculous moments but not too many. Overall, a highly enjoyable and entertaining drama. 8/10

Koi ni Ochitara
This was a very different type of story than most dramas I have seen. Not really funny at all, but starts out very sad, in fact. The acting was very good, especially by the main character and the guy who plays the CEO of Frontier. This is also the same guy who is the main character in Yamato Nadeshiko and is Takuya's nemesis, Captain Koda, in Good Luck. Very good acting and production values. The story gets a bit predictable and maybe a bit unrealistic at the end but overall a very enjoyable corporate/workplace type drama. 7.5/10

Attack No. 1
Another Ueto Aya drama, perhaps a bit formulaic but I was taken in by the almost soapy story with a sports drama base. Funny at times and very touching and heartwarming, even inspiring with some twists and turns. I did wonder why they dropped the Sango is the coach's daughter story without ever addressing it again through the entire drama though. Also, does it seem to be a common plot device to have a character get hit by a car on the way to some place important or is it just me? Seems to happen alot in Jdramas. Overall a very entertaining drama. 7.5/10

Yamato Nadeshiko
I finally finished this one and I thought the ending was very satisfying. However it seemed to take too long to get to that point and it was still hard to believe at the end that she would want to be with Osuke. And you've really gotta feel for Mr. Higashijujou, he took all of Sakurako's crap and still loved her to the end, what a guy. If you ask me, he was the real catch. Kind of blah in the middle, but if you can make it to the end of this drama, it is very good. 7/10

Currently watching Kurosagi --- LOVING IT!!!

I've just finished Attention Please, which I thought was great. I don't know why anyone thinks Ueto Aya is annoying, I thought she played her part well. I'm almost done with Koi ni Ochitara, which is good, but the lead actor lacks charisma I think. He's a very good actor, but I'm just not mezmerized when I see him on screen. It's a very well made drama though. I'm also over halfway through Yamato Nadeshiko, which is getting better, I didn't care for it at first. Also, I've just burned Boku Dake no Madonna, which I will start tonight probably.

This was a very cute, funny and touching story about true friendship. I found it to be a refreshing change from the usual Jdrama love stories and high school dramas that have been ubiquitous as of late. The premise was a bit like Three Men And A Baby, but it's still unique enough to stand on its own as a story. My only complaints were that there seemed to be too many characters at some points in the story, not a good idea to try and develop so many relationships at once I think. Also, I really hated when they veered into corny territory, like when hundreds of people would start following them when training for the horse jumping (or whatever you call it) match and at the end. That's when it got unrealistic to me, but minus those 2 parts, it was a very good drama. Good acting overall (though the kid was overacting at times especially when crying), funny and touching story and an ending you can't really complain about, just wraps up everything in a nice package. I also want to see more of Shingo's dramas, he has a nice screen presence and charisma that I want to watch again. Finally, I can't resist it... 3 PEACE!!!
My rating: 8/10

I've recently finished watching the following Japanese dramas:

Tokyo Love Story - Wonderful, great acting, well done all around EXCEPT... the ending!!! What a stupid, ridiculous ending. What was the point of the story if it ended like that??? It didn't make sense. A better ending would have been to end it right after Rika leaves Kanchi in his hometown for LA.
Still, it was worth watching, and you can definitely see how it is the original "love story" drama and that Long Vacation and Love Generation use the same formula, except for the ending part.
My rating: 8/10 (10/10 if you take out the last 15 minutes)

Antique Cake Store - What a weird story... did it have a story? I still don't understand it, yet I found it charming in a way. Perhaps if the subtitles were better I could have enjoyed it more. It was just ok.
My rating: 6/10

Strawberry On The Shortcake - Like Antique Cake Store, this one has Takizawa Hideaki as the star... he's cute but not a great actor and has zero charisma. This was very much a teen soap type thing with another weird story, he's in love with his step sister. Not really horrible, it gets better as it goes along but definitely not one of the better dramas. I thought the ending part in the snow was sweet though.
My rating: 6/10

Sekai No Chuushin De, Ai Wo Sakebu - Oh boy. What can I say about this one? The acting was absolutely stellar, just phenomenal. Definitely worth watching just for the acting. Yet, it was hard to watch, especially since they give away the ending in the first episode. I also didn't care for the flashbacks, there's an awful lot. Get out the tissues for this one.
My rating: 8/10

Aruganon Ni Hanataba Wo - This is the Japanese version of the book, Flowers For Algernon about a mentally retarded boy who grows up and has experimental surgery to "make him smarter". Overall, very well acted and a nice interpretation of the book. A little slow at times though.
My rating: 7/10

Here's what I'm currently watching:

Be Nice To People (on Ep. 8) - Super cute and funny so far, a little corny at times but it's a nice story. I think the acting is good, if a little over the top, I think they yell a little too much. I've never seen Shingo (of SMAP) in a drama before but I like him alot in this.

Koi ni Ochitara (on Ep. 6) - Another SMAP guy is the star in this one. It translates to "When I Fall In Love/The Secret Of My Success". Acting is very good here overall. Very well made drama. Seems a little predictable so far though, I wonder If I can predict the end... of course he must win over everyone and he and Kaori get married. We'll see if I'm right!

Food Fight (only on Ep. 2) - After just one episode, I can't say much yet but I'm not sure you should build a whole drama around competitive eating.

Yamato Nadeshiko (on Ep. 2) - After only 1 episode, I'm not liking the main character very much. I hope it gets better.

Attack No. 1 (on Ep. 1) - I burned my DVD from DIVX but the subtitles aren't showing up! It looks good, but I can't understand a thing. I'll definitely have to get another copy.