Staring Osozaki no Himawari. I love these types of doramas. For some reason it feels relatable.

Will not be continuing with Love Shuffle (too comical) and Dinner (too slow).

WD wrote:

^ MARKS is one of my most favourite WOWOW dramas besides Soratobu Taiya (still a WOWOW classic) and Tsumi to Batsu.

it is pretty awesome.
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gaijinmark wrote:

'Tokyo Dogs' should be avoided at all costs! Judging by your avatar, you're a fan of Odagiri Joe. If so, I would recommend (in no particular order) 'Jikou Keisatsu', 'Kaette Kita Jikou Keisatsu', and 'Boku no Imoto'.

Tokyo dogs was a bit of a letdown but not as much as BOSS.
Thanks for the recommendation! Yep I love Odagiri Joe's work! I've watched Satorare and kazoku no uta and I've been interested in Jikou keisatsu, I just got through the first episode and it was quite fun actually!
I've only seen the first 15 minutes or so of Boku no imoto some time ago so I'll probably keep watching that one as well eventually.

Kuraiyo wrote:

Thanks for the recommendation! Yep I love Odagiri Joe's work! I've watched Satorare and kazoku no uta and I've been interested in Jikou keisatsu, I just got through the first episode and it was quite fun actually! I've only seen the first 15 minutes or so of Boku no imoto some time ago so I'll probably keep watching that one as well eventually.

One I forgot to mention was 'Atami no Sousakan':http://www.jdorama.com/drama_1538.htm

Just a heads up, it is weird and different. It seems like people either 'get it' and really like it or 'don't get it' and hate it.

Episode 3 of Priceless.

For a homeless guy, Takuya Kimura looks unbelievably chic. I mean that hair does not look like the hair of a bimbo. Or the tan. Or the clean shirt. Or the... well you know what I mean.
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monta wrote:

For a homeless guy, Takuya Kimura looks unbelievably chic. I mean that hair does not look like the hair of a bimbo. Or the tan. Or the clean shirt. Or the... well you know what I mean.

You have to apply "Suspension of Disbelief" here.

gaijinmark wrote:

One I forgot to mention was 'Atami no Sousakan':http://www.jdorama.com/drama_1538.htm Just a heads up, it is weird and different. It seems like people either 'get it' and really like it or 'don't get it' and hate it.

I've watched the first episode of it and usually I LOVE weird stuff, but somehow I didn't find it that entertaining at the time. I probably wasn't in the mood for that kind of drama but I've thought about giving it a second chance.

Episode 9 of 'Tonbi', still good. Looks like the final will be 90 minutes.

Finished Priceless. I would say about 7/10. It get's really really cheesy at times. Like I want to weep but it's just way too comical. The ending is so anti-climatic. But overall a good watch

I'd like to point out how Takuya Kimura always plays Takuya Kimura instead of whoever his character is, with the same gesture and what not. Surprisingly it doesn't get old. It's as if he retired from being a race car driver and then decided to sell thermoses. So funny.

bmwracer wrote:

You have to apply "Suspension of Disbelief" here.

Hahaha so true.
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Watched most of Virgin Road. Great performances. Even though the situations are not original and are sometimes almost cliche, the characters' emotions, conversations and relationships all felt real and absorbing. They don't make dramas like this anymore... Wakui Emi is such a good actress.

Waiting for subs on everything else, so out of the blue started watching 'Yasuko to Kenji':http://www.jdorama.com/drama.1324.htm

I usually hate these over the top manga driven dramas(like Nodame for example), but I really like this one! Okay, every episode so far is the same. Little sister gets in trouble, big brother bails her out ala 'Gokusen' with some totally unbelievable fight scenes, but Matsuoka does a better job of mugging for the camera than his bandmate did in MBMH and Hirosue is good as his ex.

I think the reason it works is because in flashbacks they show a very sweet relationship that used to be between Yasuko and Kenji when their parents first died. Yuki Yagi is great as the younger Yasuko. I just hope they give some decent scenes for Sayaka Yamaguchi, I've always liked her in everything shes done and hope she doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

Totally unbelievable and over the top but so far it's working for me.

monta wrote:

I'd like to point out how Takuya Kimura always plays Takuya Kimura instead of whoever his character is, with the same gesture and what not. Surprisingly it doesn't get old. It's as if he retired from being a race car driver and then decided to sell thermoses. So funny.

In the industry, I think that's known as "the Julia Roberts method".

Episode 6 of 'Saikou no Rikon'. Really liked this episode, especially the scene at the end when all four of them are around the table.

re-watching News no Onna. This is to me the best dorama ever. The first dorama I ever watched. I somehow always think that they don't make doramas like this anymore. To me it's the Japanese version of Sorkin's Newsroom.
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http://jdorama.com/drama.396.htm

Watching Subarashiki kana jinsei about to see the first ep.
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finished the first 8 episodes of News no Onna.
So good. So so good. Almost cried watching every single one of the episodes.
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Finished 'Tonbi' this may be the best of the 'single parent' type. Masaaki Uchino excellent as Yasu and Akira Emoto and Yumi Asou both great as Kaiun and Taeko.

Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:

But I thought the final episode ran too long. The whole thing about Kensuke running away was unnecessary. I would have ended it with Yasu deciding he couldn't live in Tokyo and going back home. All that narration he does the last two minutes could have been done as a voice over on his trip back home. But to their credit, they didn't kill off Yasu. At the end of episode 9 that looked like a real possibility and I was thinking, "Oh no! It was so good up to now and now they're ruining it with a cliche ending!!"

Finally getting around to watching Yashii Jikan. On episode three now.

Just finished Gokusen season 1 and loved it! Started watching ep 1 of season 2 but felt that it wasn't nearly as interesting as season 1... Is it worth keep watching??

Kuraiyo wrote:

Just finished Gokusen season 1 and loved it! Started watching ep 1 of season 2 but felt that it wasn't nearly as interesting as season 1... Is it worth keep watching??

No.

The plot is pretty much recycled from Season 1.

Kuraiyo wrote:

Just finished Gokusen season 1 and loved it! Started watching ep 1 of season 2 but felt that it wasn't nearly as interesting as season 1... Is it worth keep watching??

You might want to try 'Yasuko to Kenji' instead: http://www.jdorama.com/drama.1324.htm

It's in the same vein. Over the top, sometimes totally unbelievable but really hilarious.