Recess: Can I Be Your Friend?

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• Talking about friendship, I like the one between Park Ji Yoon and Hyun Gi Joon in 'Lie to Me'. A great platonic friendship between a boss and his female subordinate. She was so close a friend she could yell at him and tell him off when the situation warranted it. She was his trusted aide, as well as confidante.

  At first, I thought manager PJY was secretly in love with HGJ. Perhaps she was but it was never revealed. On the surface, the relationship seemed to be purely platonic. I wish the series had developed this relationship deeper, showing us more on JY's private life and on GJ providing support to her as a friend, too.

• I've been trying to think of the great friendships in dramas, and I think the one I will always remember is the friendship between Shuji, Akira and Nobuta in Nobuta wo Produce. I first saw the drama when it came out years ago, and up until last year I was scared to re-watch it. It was so precious to me and came into my life at just the right time; I was afraid a re-watch would make me see all of the flaws and childishness that comes with high school dramas. But mostly I was scared that I wouldn't love the friendship between the trio. Thankfully, the drama holds up on re-watch. I got to end of the drama and was crying my eyes out again at Nobuta's selflessness. The way those three interacted was so true to high school, and to life. Everyone is shy to admit they're friends with the others, but when push comes to shove, they'll do the right thing and help the other out.

  • I second Nobuta wo Produce and its three friends. That drama was so lovely and gets better with each rewatch. I don't think any other drama or film has captured that feeling of adolescent friendship, of having a 'soulmate', in a sense. For all the high school setting, I don't think it's childish at all. It focuses just on three very different people who form a strong bond, who happen to be there for each other through the changes that life brings.

  • I think Nobuta Wo Produce revolved around their developing friendship.. I liked it :)

    I also think Joon Ha and Dong Joo's friendship was really one of a kind... I loved how the two interacted, looked out for each other. They were both really great friends/brothers..

    I also agree with 9E2O..

  • I havn't watched jap dramas in so long, so my mind went straight to Kdramas when i saw this post....but Nobuta Wo Produce was one of the most beautiful friendship stories out there....when i got to the end of the episode i felt so nostalgic and called my old high school friends

• "City Hunter": Lee Yoon Sung and Ahjussi (Bae Shik Joong)!!!! Do I need to elaborate any more? <3 "Take your couple fight outside please"

  "Warrior Baek Dong Soo": Dong Soo and Woon. <3 <3 <3 I am so invested in their relationship that I dream about them sometimes. They have such a wonderfully developed friendship. Even if they now have to fight on opposite sides they will never be able to actually kill the other. They love each other too much.

  "Sungkyunkwan Scandal": Yong Ha and Jae Shin is a definite for me too. They KILLED me time and time again.

  "Can You Hear My Heart?": Dong Joo and Joon Ha. Okay so it can be argued that their relationship is NOT realistic but damn their heightened level of bromance was so AMAZING... that I don't care about such details. :D

  "Bloody Monday": Fujimaru (Falcon) and Otoya. I don't know how to elaborate more on their relationship. I can't quite put it in words but it was this duo that stood out the most to me when I look back on the show even now.

  • After posting this I've noticed that I'm a sucker for bromance more than anything else. But to be fair... bromance with clout. At least IMO my choices were all substantial pairings. ^__^

  • The bromance in City Hunter was delightful. It was equal part brothers and best friends. They just need each other to function.

  • omg you mentioned Fujimaru and Otoya! :)

    • I agree YS and Ajussi was just EPIC...I was more invested in their bromance than YS and Nana at one point.....

• I can't forget the kind of love-hate friendship Jinsoo and Eun Young has in Coffee House... or the bond Jandi had with the F4 in Boys Before Flowers... ahhh so envious of her having hot and rich friends...

• oh you reminded me. I loved 9 Ends 2 Outs, I want to re-watch it now : ) i understand how they wanted to preserve the platonic relationship, but later on, i was already frustrated with the 'friendship' thing, i wanted them to be together already.

  for bromance, it's SKKS for me!

• Loved 9E,2O. It was so mature. So much so that it was weird to realize that it came out of k-dramaland.

  SKKS - of course!

  And Sangdoo's bromance. In total agreement.

  I actually really liked the friendship between the chicas in I Need Romance.

  • Ah INR trio is DAEBAK! ;) they were so fun to watch.

• Shin Young, Da Jung, and Boo Ki in Still Marry Me/The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry: The friends with completely disparate personalities and perspectives on life and love, but an innate understanding that friendship isn’t predicated on similarity but rather on sincerity. They were always there for each other.

  I wish I had had friends like these when I was younger, the mistakes of my life would never have happened.

  City Hunter (Lee Yoon Sung) and ahjussi best male couple to me. There has to be a sequel to City Hunter. This drama answered all wishes and especially that the leads really date. LOL.

  • Ditto! Your choices and comments are spot-on!
    The boys can have their bromance,
    but the ladies can have BRAmance! Or, WOmance
    (we're having a discussion about this over at DB!)
    :)

  • City Hunter!
    City Hunter and ahjussi, and the burgeoning bromance between City Hunter and prosecutor. Why did they kill the prosecutor?! *Sigh*

    And 9 Ends 2 Outs, definitely.

• Ah friendship. Where would we be without it? ;)
  Black and White, best bromance. I love how two opposites become the best of friends and fight crime together.

  1. Last Friends (Jdrama), this is still one of the most memorable dramas I've ever watched. It deals with Juri Ueno a lesbian that falls for her friend Masami Nagasawa. Also Eita comes into the picture and he befriends them as well. My explanation sucks. *sighs*, but the drama was very complex so I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it.
  But friendship was like a major theme that revolved around the characters.

  I'd say Can You Hear My Heart did portray sweet bromance, but it started more like "I need you because I can't make it through without you" kind of thing. My definition of friendship is being there for someone and vice versa, but not becoming the wings they need in order to fly. Just the air that lifts them off their feet. I dunno, I guess I see it this way because if my personal experiences.

  Warrior Baek Dong Soo is another great interpretation of bromance. Hard to say where it's headed as of right now, but their beginning was great.

  • Thank you for mentioning Last Friends. It is one of the most unforgettable J-Drama I have ever watched. Personally I find it REFRESHING compare to any Korean, TW, HK and even J-Dramas out there..

    It is not about brotherhood, sisterhood, platonic friendship that is so "common" depicted in most dramas. The friendship of 5 characters (minus Ryo the villain) in Last Friends is the most complicated and honest friendship story I've ever watched!

    What I love about this drama is about their friendship, their accepting their differences and their past and overcoming the challenges they faced. The best thing is that they do not need to endure their hardship alone.

    In the final scene, Nagasawa Masami told her friends,"My dear friends, you are my last friends”

    Ueno Juri is soo awesome in here that I forgot her character in Nodame Cantabile.

• LBH and JJH in iris is the best for me when JJH dies and says " you left me very lonely" made cry for hours.

  I liked dokko jin and ding dong in greatests love too, wont call it bromance.

• Besides the ones you've mentioned, I'd like to add the following two:

  1. The friendship between umm, everyone in "Goodbye Solo." :-)
  2. The friendship between the kids in "Sharp."