I've been watching jdoramas on and off for a couple years now, and generally really like them. I like how they differ from typical American TV-- for one thing, they're certainly not sitcoms, with a stable cast of characters that goes on for seasons and seasons. They're not soap operas or telanovellas, though they share the element of a driving plot that tends toward one endpoint (most of the time, anyway). They're well-shot and produced, without any of that obvious made-for-TV feel.

In other words, in my opinion, doramas (in particular the standard 12-13 ep series) maintain a certain balance of long story-arc and short episodic quality. They can have side-stories and twists and turns, but most of the time after the first episode you basically know where they're going. For this reason, I think the job of dorama writers, actors, directors, and producers is extremely difficult just by virtue of the format. It's rare that I've watched a dorama with 10+ hours of footage from start to finish that does a great job of keeping a good balance the whole way through. It's easy for them to drag, or go places they don't need to go. Because they're so endpoint-based, they almost need to feel more like a feature-length film than anything else, which is really hard when you're talking about so many hours.

I'm sort of just thinking out loud here, but any thoughts? Agree/disagree with my general characterization of doramas-- basically, it's all about balance? Any stick out that defy the trend?