bmwracer wrote:

A good reference point (IMO) is how well the reviews are written: is the reviewer overly gushing about an actor/actress and forgetting about the drama itself? What's the reviewer's track record on reviews? How do other reviews of the same drama compare? A tipoff to a poor review from a member: it's one sentence. Or less.

Good points. Problem is most of the reviews are like how you described and there are so many of them to go through, I just give up trying to find a good one. Even when it's an unbiased review, sometimes people just describe the plot, and even unbiased opinions can differ a lot between different people too. I usually just go by ratings and awards, esp. the one for scripts (info not available here but on a chinese site). It's not a very good way to pick but better than going by reviews I think.

xploring wrote:

Good points. Problem is most of the reviews are like how you described and there are so many of them to go through, I just give up trying to find a good one. Even when it's not a unbiased review, sometimes people just describe the plot, and even unbiased opinions can differ a lot between different people too. I usually just go by ratings and awards, esp. the one for scripts (info not available here but on a chinese site). It's not a very good way to pick but better than going by reviews I think.

Ratings are like our Top 50: a popularity contest on a larger scale... I rarely trust 'em.

Awards are a good idea, but you have to wait until the drama and/or season is over before making a selection... A patience test.

What also might help is seeing the reviews on someone who's seen a lot of dramas... Those people seem to not have any biases and just jump in with both feet... From the What Are You Watching thread, I can say that Wynter and Geezer fall into that category... And their reviews are honest and unbiased, IMO...

I try to be brief but concise with my reviews, but I'm exceedingly picky about the dramas I watch... So I disqualify myself.

bmwracer wrote:

What also might help is seeing the reviews on someone who's seen a lot of dramas... Those people seem to not have any biases and just jump in with both feet... From the What Are You Watching thread, I can say that Wynter and Geezer fall into that category... And their reviews are honest and unbiased, IMO...

best way to go!

Thanks for the tips! I found that I probably look for different things in dramas compared to other people, and I have become very picky too... so it's hard (I am being difficult. lol)

Am still looking for moving family drama (like Under one roof), and moving dramas in general, so if anyone has seen Tokyo Tower and can share your thoughts... There are exactly 0 comment and review for Tokyo Tower SP.

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I just remembered, for romance dramas, just look for Kitagawa Eriko's. Just google and you will find the series she wrote for.
And both of these are very good, very heavy though.
http://jdorama.com/drama.250.htm Majo no jouken
http://jdorama.com/drama.176.htm Kamisama mou sukoshi dake

And this one too:
Crying out Love, in the Center of the World
http://jdorama.com/drama.828.htm

xploring wrote:

And this one too: Crying out Love, in the Center of the World http://jdorama.com/drama.828.htm

Eck.

I know a lot of people love this drama, but I don't like it at all... I think it's a totally manipulative, exceedingly weepy, tear-jerker.

As I've said in the past, life's difficult as it is, so why put yourself through 11 episodes of virtually nonstop sadness and grief...?

Quote:

Eck. I know a lot of people love this drama, but I don't like it at all... I think it's a totally manipulative, exceedingly weepy, tear-jerker. bleh As I've said in the past, life's difficult as it is, so why put yourself through 11 episodes of virtually nonstop sadness and grief...?

Completely agree here... that was the worst experience I've ever had watching a drama. If you want to feel depressed about life, it's perfect. Though, I did think Yamada Takayuki was fantastic in it.

Thank you all for your recommendations... but wouldn't you know it, my DVD player just broke!

bettebogart wrote:

Quote: Eck. I know a lot of people love this drama, but I don't like it at all... I think it's a totally manipulative, exceedingly weepy, tear-jerker. bleh As I've said in the past, life's difficult as it is, so why put yourself through 11 episodes of virtually nonstop sadness and grief...? Completely agree here... that was the worst experience I've ever had watching a drama. If you want to feel depressed about life, it's perfect. Though, I did think Yamada Takayuki was fantastic in it. Thank you all for your recommendations... but wouldn't you know it, my DVD player just broke!

Overuse?

Not to worry: you can get another one for cheap nowadays...

Kaze105 wrote:

I do believe there really isnt much of a romance in GTO though... (Well there is sort of), but im looking with a drama that is sort of mostly romance.

how about proposal daisakusen.. its a story about love , altou maybe not exactly 'romance'.. but veryyy nice
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is there a story about a playboy turned good when he meets a girl.. preferably characters are aged mid-late 20s
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um hope this is the right thread but you see I'm really new to JDorama's and I was wondering if anyone could sugest somthing, I don't like anything sad or to melodramatic and I don't like violence, ghost, but other horror is OK as long as its not too scary...LOL, maybe comedy, crime or action, that would be great or sitcom type thing

kyouki wrote:

is there a story about a playboy turned good when he meets a girl.. preferably characters are aged mid-late 20s

Well, he's not a playboy, in fact he's basically a pimp. But you might try "Cheapu Rabu" (Cheap Love). It's your standard "bad guy meets nice girl" plot. But it's one of my favorite roles of Sorimachi's.

PlanetHydeRainbow wrote:

um hope this is the right thread but you see I'm really new to JDorama's and I was wondering if anyone could sugest somthing, I don't like anything sad or to melodramatic and I don't like violence, ghost, but other horror is OK as long as its not too scary...LOL, maybe comedy, crime or action, that would be great or sitcom type thing

Crime or action without violence is pretty rare, and violence in jdoramas are not that scary, right? Maybe you can try Furuhata Ninzaburo
http://jdorama.com/drama.89.htm
They made 3 series for this. I have only watched 2 episodes so far and there's no violence at all.

Odoru daisousassen has comedy, crime and action and I highly recommend it. (Sorry I am repeating myself) There is a little bit of violence, but really quite minimal.

kyouki wrote:

is there a story about a playboy turned good when he meets a girl.. preferably characters are aged mid-late 20s

The first thing I thought of was (not so) Perfect Love:
http://jdorama.com/drama.322.htm
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Japanese drama trades (on hiatus)

Currently watching: Netflix stuff

Hello all!
I am a big fan of high school dramas know any good ones? tell me please!
some of my favorite dramas include:
Gokusen 1 and 2
seito shokun
great teacher onizuka
stand up
but dramas I wanna see more of: Life(know any like these?)

cece678 wrote:

Hello all! I am a big fan of high school dramas know any good ones? tell me please! some of my favorite dramas include: Gokusen 1 and 2 seito shokun great teacher onizuka stand up but dramas I wanna see more of: Life(know any like these?)

you can try Nobuta wo Produce. i like it alot.

hoshi2307 wrote:

you can try Nobuta wo Produce. i like it alot.

atashi mo!!!

xploring wrote:

Crime or action without violence is pretty rare, and violence in jdoramas are not that scary, right? Maybe you can try Furuhata Ninzaburo http://jdorama.com/drama.89.htm They made 3 series for this. I have only watched 2 episodes so far and there's no violence at all. Odoru daisousassen has comedy, crime and action and I highly recommend it. (Sorry I am repeating myself) There is a little bit of violence, but really quite minimal.

I don't mind violence up to a die hard level ^^, Odoru daisousassen sounds intresting, I will give it a try, thanks

cece678 wrote:

Hello all! I am a big fan of high school dramas know any good ones? tell me please! some of my favorite dramas include: Gokusen 1 and 2 seito shokun great teacher onizuka stand up but dramas I wanna see more of: Life(know any like these?)

you could watch:
nobuta wa produce
my boss, my hero
papa to musume

all of which are revolving around high-school themed.

hi, i'm just new here and just finished watching summer snow and i really like it, can anyone recommend other dramas like this? thnx ^_^

xploring wrote:

Crime or action without violence is pretty rare, and violence in jdoramas are not that scary, right? Maybe you can try Furuhata Ninzaburo http://jdorama.com/drama.89.htm They made 3 series for this. I have only watched 2 episodes so far and there's no violence at all. Odoru daisousassen has comedy, crime and action and I highly recommend it. (Sorry I am repeating myself) There is a little bit of violence, but really quite minimal.

The Furuhata Ninzaburo series was written by Koki Mitani, one of the best screenwriters (TV and film) in Japan. It is very reminiscient of the Columbo series with veteran actor Masakazu Tamura in the titular role. A very entertaining series.

Odoru Daisousassen has spawned a very profitable franchise based on the original TV series. There have been four theatrical movies--the first two starring the entire TV cast, the last two focusing on a particular character from the series. The first two movies are among the highest grossing domestic live-action movies in Japanese cinema.

I know I mentioned this on a thread awhile back, but in 2001 poll of Japanese TV viewers, Odoru Daisousassen was voted the number one all-time favorite TV series. This is very much a character-driven show, with a large, exceptionally synergistic ensemble cast. A terrific series.

For a purely comedic cop show, I would recommend Mamachari Deka, starring Misako Tanaka and Yuko Asano playing respectively, a detective's wife who can't help sticking her nose into his cases and her husband's colleague who is annoyed that an ordinary civilian is getting involved in police business and even more annoyed that she is able to solve the crime.

A lot of people also like Unfair, starring Ryoko Shinohara as a hard-as-nails detective. There's a lot of murders which occur in this series. I had some reservations about the script, but it is worth watching to see Ryoko Shinohara in yet another sterling performance.

Kochira Honikegami Sho takes place at a police precinct and has a large ensemble cast. There have been five seasons of this series. It's at best an average series, but it does have some actors in it that I like.

Partners is another series with multiple seasons (it's up to season six I believe). I've only seen a few episodes from a couple of different seasons, but what I've seen I've enjoyed a lot. Well written and acted. It's very much a plot-driven show with the emphasis on how the two lead detectives go about solving the crime.