Inspired by the J-Drama that you thought was good thread.

I haven't seen many J-Dramas but there is one that sticks out when it comes to not liking at first:

Nodame Cantabile.

"Oh no he didn't!" you might say (oh yes I did!), but I honestly, truly did not like what I saw when I watched the first episode of Nodame Cantabile. So much so that I left the first episode sitting on my hard drive and did not bother to download the rest of episodes until summer of last year, about a good six or seven months after the series had aired. That only happened because the anime fansub group I preferred had to shut down subbing for a while because one of their members had either gotten sick or someone in their family had gotten sick, at least that's what I remember reading. So while waiting for the anime version to finish, I figure I check out the live-action version on Crunchyroll.com. The result was one more Juri-chan fanboy in the world

Now as to why I didn't like it, well, I thought the episode was horribly acted at first, particularly with Viera-sensei and the young Chiaki. Even to this day I still think it's bad. It didn't get much better from there, with Chiaki getting hit by Eto-sensei. That was strange the first time I saw it. Just one of those WTF moments when Eto-sensei comes flying in and smacks Chiaki, whose facial reaction looked so absurd then. The anime was less expressive, for lack of a better word, so to see the live-action version was surprising to me. I guess the idea of a live-action anime/manga just didn't register to me. Anyhow, the rest of the first episode got better, but still wasn't enough to hook me in.

I'm glad I did watch the rest of the series, else I would've missed out on what has become one of the best shows I've seen, not to mention missing out on the pretty and talented Ueno Juri. I'm sure I would've seen her acting eventually since I had been wanting to watch Josee, The Tiger and The Fish, but whether or not I would become a big fan I don't know.

I really wish to have some dramas i can mention in this thread but i have not come across anything that really invoke such feelings. maybe the closest would be bara no nai hanaya. but then i did not really not like it at first. Just thought it was typical at first and then the twist made the drama even more outstanding.

Yasashii Jikan
I thought it was slow at first with not so lovable leading actor (Nino... was not a fan then) and actress (Masami.. her character was annoying) but it has become one of my favorite drama. I ended loving Nino and Masami and all the other superb cast. The pacing was perfect and really apt to the title "gentle time"

Stand Up!
I thought it was bad watching the first 6 episode. The actors was great bu the story seemed very shallow and was aiming for cheap laughs. However after I continued on I found it is more than just goofy antics. The show has a surprising deeper meaning than just about teenagers raging hormones. I came to appreciate it and rewatched the drama over and over again for every bits of details.

Taiyo no Kisetsu
Hideaki Takizawa.. I never thought the guy could really act but he did really well in this. The story was really dark and heartbreaking.

Heh, looks like someone stepped up and started the thread...

Probably Around 40. I thought the first episode was extremely disappointing and boring. The second was only marginally better. I think around the third episode is when I started to get into the show and feel for the characters.
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Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go!

I was very wary of the drama seeing as how it had a member of KAT-TUN as the lead and was all about Train-otaku, but the rest of the cast piqued my interest. I almost quit a couple episodes in because Koki's character was IRRITATING at first. But by ep. 3 the drama improved signifigantly- it was funny, had great character development, and just turned into a really good drama. It was a little sad that they cut out an episode due to poor ratings.

A million stars falling from the sky definitely! It's one of my favourites, but I didn't really like the first ep.. But it got really good after that!

And also Kisarazu Cat's Eye. I didn't like it at first but by the end I didn't want it to finish!!

Same with Koshonin. I was about to stop watching after the first ep, but I'm so glad I didn't!

MEDAKA At first I thought, Not another high school drama But Mimura and a pretty good supporting cast changed my mind quickly

marspeach wrote:

Probably Around 40. I thought the first episode was extremely disappointing and boring. The second was only marginally better. I think around the third episode is when I started to get into the show and feel for the characters.

+1

For me it was Orange Days! But I changed my mind quickly

Tiger&Dragon

especially since i had no idea what rakugo was. And the storyline and filming style was rather unique. I gave it the 'what the hell?!' on the first episode
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I agree that some of the beginning scenes of Nodame Cantabile were extremely corny, like the ones with the maestro and the plane crash. o.o; I'm glad I watched it all the way through though.

EstherM wrote:

For me it was Orange Days! But I changed my mind quickly

I always wanted to watch Orange Days...
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Whoa! I stand corrected about Honey And Clover! It started out good, fizzled, then gets surprisingly deep and emotional. One more episode before bed!
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Nodame again!

Was really confused after watching the first ep whether to continue or not! I didn't have the slightest knowledge of the whole Nodame manga series.. Was not sure about the whole musical theme.. also was shocked with Chiaki's Nodame beatings!

However decided to continue on and I'm really glad that I did that.. The drama has been brilliant as has been Juri chan! One of the best dramas that I have ever seen purely on the basis of entertainment and character enactment.

Spackle1213 wrote:

I always wanted to watch Orange Days...

DO IT!!!
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Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

another vote for Nodame Cantabile

actaully after i watched the first Ep, it took me a while to watch the rest. Nodame was creepily annoying in that episode.. but it turned out to be one of the best
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bmwracer wrote:

Heh, looks like someone stepped up and started the thread...

I was gonna start it but I got too busy loading summer dramas threads.

Takoyama wrote:

I was gonna start it but I got too busy loading summer dramas threads.

One has to have their priorities in order.

Wynter wrote:

DO IT!!!

I second that!