JDrama Recommendations

bmwracer wrote:
Some parts were good, but others.... :sweat:

I thought it was fairly solid. The only parts that bugged me where the way events were repeated through the beginning of each episode. Like they were filling time.

And speaking of filling, my girlfriend just had to tease me when she saw Maki Yoko. "Oh, NOW I see why you got this! Look at her booooobies!" :shocked: :love_eyes:

:rofl:

WhiteHawk wrote:I thought it was fairly solid. The only parts that bugged me where the way events were repeated through the beginning of each episode. Like they were filling time.

It's called "Padding." :hehe:

And speaking of filling, my girlfriend just had to tease me when she saw Maki Yoko. "Oh, NOW I see why you got this! Look at her booooobies!" :shocked: :love_eyes:

:rofl:

LOL. :rofl:

I saw her first in Summer Time Machine Blues, but had no idea she was so endowed.... :sweat:

I suppose you should check out Shukan Maki Yoko, if you haven't already. :beaten:

bmwracer wrote:I suppose you should check out Shukan Maki Yoko, if you haven't already. :beaten:

I haven't, but I suppose I'll have to now. ;) Can you seed the 1280x720 version?

WhiteHawk wrote:I haven't, but I suppose I'll have to now. ;) Can you seed the 1280x720 version?

Hmm, I'm not sure if I downloaded that version... Or was that the only version to begin with?

It's been a while. :sweat:

EDIT: I think I've only got the 704x396 version.

bmwracer wrote:
Hmm, I'm not sure if I downloaded that version... Or was that the only version to begin with?

It's been a while. :sweat:

EDIT: I think I've only got the 704x396 version.

Both versions are available, but nobody is seeding either. If you've got the 704x396, I'll take that. ‚ ‚肪‚Æ‚¤B

WhiteHawk wrote:Both versions are available, but nobody is seeding either. If you've got the 704x396, I'll take that. ‚ ‚肪‚Æ‚¤B

I'll start seeding when I get home. :victory:

^ Yikes, I completely forgot about this....

I'll seed until there are no more leechers or more seeders.

Gomen. :sweat:

^ That's okay, it says I still have over 12 hours to go on episode 1. :puppydog:

WhiteHawk wrote:^ That's okay, it says I still have over 12 hours to go on episode 1. :puppydog:

Yikes.

I think I can spot which leecher you are... I'll continue seeding each episode 'til you're done. :victory:

bmwracer wrote:
Yikes.

I think I can spot which leecher you are... I'll continue seeding each episode 'til you're done. :victory:

Thank you. But "leecher" sounds so... derogatory. :puppydog: How about "beneficiary"? :sweat:

:mrgreen:

WhiteHawk wrote:Thank you. But "leecher" sounds so... derogatory. :puppydog: How about "beneficiary"? :sweat:

:mrgreen:

How about "downloader?" :mrgreen:

EDIT: I'm assuming you have Episodes 1-3 done and 4 is at about 71%... I don't see your IP for the other episodes... :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:EDIT: I'm assuming you have Episodes 1-3 done and 4 is at about 71%... I don't see your IP for the other episodes... :sweat:

I had to go to the farm for a bit. Four finished while I was there. Just started 5 & 6, but will be leaving for my girlfriend's soon, and taking the laptop with me tonight. So it will be tomorrow night before I'm lee- er, downloading again.

WhiteHawk wrote:Just started 5 & 6

Yup.... I'm tracking you. :victory:

You JDrama experts are the perfect ones to ask.

I'd like to improve my Japanese by finding good models to emulate. I'm hoping that you can suggest dramas where the male leads communicate in a way that conveys:

o Adulthood
o Intelligence, education
o Likeability, warmth, social grace
o High class (not the popular "scuzzy but good-hearted" type; not snooty or condescending; just casually good-mannered)
o Competence, reliability (not a flaky, aloof, eccentric genius; just a professional who feels reassuringly approachable and yet highly-skilled)

There are characters of this sort in some late-night American dramas (assistant district attorneys in Law & Order, for example, or some of the doctors in medical shows), but I don't know where to find such characters in JDramas. I've only seen a few, but the male leads have always been wacky clowns, or intelligent but socially hopeless (Galileo, Kekkon Dekinai Otoko), or looking like teenaged girls, or creating a scuzzy first impression but ultimately good-hearted (GTO or various detective shows), or deep and good but seemingly incapable of verbal communication (like Kimura Takuya, who communicates mainly by biting his lower lip in meaningful ways), and so on. Classy female leads are easy, but male leads seem...hopeless. It may be that the Japanese don't find smart, likeable, classy, openly communicative, adult guys interesting enough to build a story around, but I'm hoping you'll know of a few exceptions.

I realize that the drama selection is limited. I'll probably have to settle for characters that have parts of what I'm looking for but not the whole package. Since I'll have to watch repeatedly to learn the speech patterns of these characters, an interesting drama would be a definite plus, but a male lead whose speech patterns are worth emulating is the priority.

If you could ponder it, stretch your memories, and think of a few (along with, maybe, your impression of the character) I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

^ Hmm, that's gonna take some thought.

A drama like that would typically not be made or have low ratings. :beaten:

Ahh, Law & Order... The only TV show on the air currently that I watch with total dedication. :victory:

EDIT: Oh, and welcome to J-D. :D

None of the shows i've watched fit the bill :sweat: Most of the dramas i've watched have either a strong female lead, or a male in a comic role. The ones that don't, don't really feature a male character you describe.

tuanglen wrote:You JDrama experts are the perfect ones to ask.

I'd like to improve my Japanese by finding good models to emulate. I'm hoping that you can suggest dramas where the male leads communicate in a way that conveys:

o Adulthood
o Intelligence, education
o Likeability, warmth, social grace
o High class (not the popular "scuzzy but good-hearted" type; not snooty or condescending; just casually good-mannered)
o Competence, reliability (not a flaky, aloof, eccentric genius; just a professional who feels reassuringly approachable and yet highly-skilled)

There are characters of this sort in some late-night American dramas (assistant district attorneys in Law & Order, for example, or some of the doctors in medical shows), but I don't know where to find such characters in JDramas. I've only seen a few, but the male leads have always been wacky clowns, or intelligent but socially hopeless (Galileo, Kekkon Dekinai Otoko), or looking like teenaged girls, or creating a scuzzy first impression but ultimately good-hearted (GTO or various detective shows), or deep and good but seemingly incapable of verbal communication (like Kimura Takuya, who communicates mainly by biting his lower lip in meaningful ways), and so on. Classy female leads are easy, but male leads seem...hopeless. It may be that the Japanese don't find smart, likeable, classy, openly communicative, adult guys interesting enough to build a story around, but I'm hoping you'll know of a few exceptions.

I realize that the drama selection is limited. I'll probably have to settle for characters that have parts of what I'm looking for but not the whole package. Since I'll have to watch repeatedly to learn the speech patterns of these characters, an interesting drama would be a definite plus, but a male lead whose speech patterns are worth emulating is the priority.

If you could ponder it, stretch your memories, and think of a few (along with, maybe, your impression of the character) I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

Maybe:

King's Restaurant
Last Christmas
Home Drama
Boku to Kanojo to Kanojo no Ikiru Michi (not at the beginning)

Kaze no Garden? (I haven't watched this)

Just off the top of my head:

Ogata Ken in Ruri no Shima and

Terao Akira in Yasashi Jikan

I'll second Last Christmas and add Star no Koi.

tuanglen wrote:

I'd like to improve my Japanese by finding good models to emulate. I'm hoping that you can suggest dramas where the male leads communicate in a way that conveys:

o Adulthood
o Intelligence, education
o Likeability, warmth, social grace
o High class (not the popular "scuzzy but good-hearted" type; not snooty or condescending; just casually good-mannered)
o Competence, reliability (not a flaky, aloof, eccentric genius; just a professional who feels reassuringly approachable and yet highly-skilled)

In the long-running detective dorama Aibou, Mizutani Yutaka's character--Ukyo Sugishita--one of the two main protagonists of the series, has every single characteristic you list (although his envious colleagues would argue about number 3).

In Ohsama no Resutoran, Matsumoto Koshiro's character, Sengoku the legendary garcon, would also fit the bill (although his fellow colleagues would also argue about number 3)

In another detective series, Ninzaburo Furuhata, the eponymous character played by Tamura Masakazu would be a viable candidate.

In Riso no Joshi, Nagatsuka Kyozo's character, an assistant branch manager of a travel agency, proves to be a strong and wise mentor to his youthful and inexperienced staff.

Personally, I don't think you'll find many male characters in dorama who fit your criteria because that's not the type of character the people who make dorama these days are looking for. Their preference is for youthful, vapid, shallow, talentless fangirl mannequins.

If you're looking for male characters possessing those criteria you listed, look at Japanese movies, both gendai-geki and especially jidai-geki films.