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A Koala's Playground

I'll talk about dramas if I want to

Chinese historical figures in traditional attire lineup.

Category Archives: J-doramas

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The Prada Curse for Asian Stars Continues as J-actor Sakaguchi Kentaro Gets into Cheating Scandal with Actress Nagano Mei

A Koala's Playground Posted on September 13, 2025 by ockoalaSeptember 13, 2025
The Prada Curse for Asian Stars Continues as J-actor

At this point if you’re an Asian actor and Italian couture house Prada comes calling with a brand ambassador offer bolt the other way as fast as you can. There is a scandal in J-ent this week and the male lead in the center of it is popular star Sakaguchi Kentaro, who happens to be Prada’s Japan brand ambassador. Him … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Cheating, Nagano Mei, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Tanaka Kei | 6 Replies

Award Winning Hit K-drama Stove League to Get J-dorama Adaptation After the Success of the J-version of Marry My Husband

A Koala's Playground Posted on July 25, 2025 by ockoalaJuly 24, 2025
Group walking in team uniforms and suits.

I am leery of having one thing work and then just repeating it thinking it can happen again but let’s hope for the best. K-drama Stove League (Hot Stove League) which was both a popular hit and also award winning will be getting a J-dorama adaptation. This comes on the heel of the success of the J-version of Marry My … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Hot Stove League, Kame, Kamenashi Kazuya, Stove League

J-dorama Adaptation of Marry My Husband Continues Strong Run Now Midway Through and with Opening Douban Rating of 8.3

A Koala's Playground Posted on July 12, 2025 by ockoalaJuly 12, 2025
Couple standing under umbrella in the rain.

The J-version of Marry My Husband is becoming the buzziest Asian drama of July so far, and fitting for being a K-drama and J-dorama blended execution. It’s midway through an Amazon Prime exclusive streaming airing with two episodes released a week, and the dorama just got an opening Douban rating from C-viewers with an extremely high 8.2 The dorama is … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Koshiba Fuka, Marry My Husband, Sato Takeru, Watashi no Otto to Kekkon Shite

Studio Dragon Produced J-dorama Version of Marry My Husband with Koshiba Fuka and Sato Takeru Gets Strong Reviews and Will Air on tvN Network

A Koala's Playground Posted on July 7, 2025 by ockoalaJuly 7, 2025
Korean drama poster with multiple characters.

It’s only been a year and a half since the Korean drama Marry My Husband became an unexpected hit. The production company Studio Dragon went ahead and produced its own J-dorama version (rather than license it to Japan) which recently premiered exclusively on Amazon Prime. The new version stars Koshiba Fuka and Sato Takeru, and on the male lead alone … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas, K-dramas | Tagged Koshiba Fuka, Marry My Husband, Sato Takeru, Watashi no Otto to Kekkon Shite

Iconic Japanese Actress and Singer Nakayama Miho Who Starred in Beloved 90’s Movie Love Letter Passes Away at 54 Years Old

A Koala's Playground Posted on December 6, 2024 by ockoalaDecember 6, 2024
Smiling woman in a black dress.

Oh god this is such terribly sad news to hear and it’s definitely not been a good first week of December this year. Japanese news is reporting that actress and singer Nakayama Miho has passed away. She was 54 years old and found deceased in her home bathroom, the method by which is likely self-inflicted. She was scheduled for a … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas, My Loves | Tagged Love Letter, Nakayama Miho

Netflix Releases Apocalyptic Poster and Action Packed Official Preview for Alice in Borderland 2

A Koala's Playground Posted on December 5, 2022 by ockoalaDecember 5, 2022
"Promotional poster for 'Alice in Borderland' series"

A well crafted high stakes life as a game concept will always have room for variations that deliver fun and catharsis. I still remember the one-two punch of K-drama Sweet Home and J-dorama Alice in Borderland when both were released around the same time in December 2020, the perfect holiday binge watch during the height of COVID-19 stay home era. … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Alice in Borderland, Tsuchiya Tao, YamaPi, Yamashita Tomohisa, Yamazaki Kento

Hit Romance J-dorama Silent with Kawaguchi Haruna and Meguro Ren Spawns Tourist Visits to Key Filming Spots

A Koala's Playground Posted on November 24, 2022 by ockoalaNovember 22, 2022
Couple gazing at their hands together.

So my wee bae Kawaguchi Haruna is all grown up and in her own renai renzoku dorama this fall season called Silent with idol turned actor Meguro Ren. I’ve heard it’s a classic slow burn tearjerker type but Meguro Ren’s acting in prior doramas has been wildly bad so I was afraid to jump in but the dorama is going … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Kawaguchi Haruna, Meguro Ren, Silent

Popular Forensic J-dorama Unnatural with Ishihara Satomi to Get K-drama Adaptation in 2023

A Koala's Playground Posted on October 3, 2022 by ockoalaOctober 3, 2022
Young woman with brown hair against blue background.

So this is one of my all time fave medical/forensic/procedural J-doramas and to see it getting a K-drama remake elicits conflicting feelings. On one hand more people will get to know this fantastic story but on the other hand nearly all K-drama remakes of J-doramas fail miserably. Unnatural looked like a run-of-the-mill procedural but really shone as special with the … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas, K-dramas | Tagged Ishihara Satomi, Iura Arata, Kubota Masataka, Unnatural

Alice in Borderland 2 Cast of Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao, Yamashita Tomohisa, and Naka Riisa Take Center Stage at TUDUM Japan Hosted by Netflix to Showcase Upcoming J-doramas

A Koala's Playground Posted on September 30, 2022 by ockoalaSeptember 30, 2022
Group discussion in a modern office setting.

I already posted about the upcoming Alice in Borderland 2 airing on Netflix in December of 2022 but this week the pictures and promos are out from the announcement event called TUDUM Japan. There were TUDUM events held around the world by Netflix to announce upcoming dramas and shows and movies in that region and Japan may be primed to … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Alice in Borderland, Naka Riisa, Tsuchiya Tao, Yamashita Tomohisa, Yamazaki Kento

Alice in Borderland 2 Teaser Preview Hits All the Right Emotional and Action Beat Knowing the Characters We Care About Have Another Mountain to Climb

A Koala's Playground Posted on September 25, 2022 by ockoalaSeptember 24, 2022
Diverse characters in a dramatic cinematic scene.

I feel so lucky to straddle so many different Asian entertainment show mediums, it opens my mind to how the differences can produce compelling but different products. The success of Squid Game is undoubtedly warranted but I understand why J-dorama watchers complain that its a lesser derivative of more complex crafted works. For early aughts there was Battle Royale which … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Alice in Borderland

Highly Anticipated Netlix J-dorama Adaptation of Classic Shonen Manga Yu Yu Hakusho Releases First Character Stills with Kitamura Takumi

A Koala's Playground Posted on July 27, 2022 by ockoalaJuly 25, 2022
Young man with intense expression and green background.

Well this is either going to be epic or a hot mess, and I’m hoping for epic and think it will actually work out. Thirty years after the release of super popular and beloved shonen manga Yu Yu Hakusho, still readable today and stands the test of time, it’s finally getting a live action adaptation. Netflix will be producing the … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Yu Yu Hakusho

Ayase Haruka and Aragaki Yui Lead the J-news Poll for Top Actresses of 2022

A Koala's Playground Posted on June 4, 2022 by ockoalaJune 3, 2022
Smiling person in a red dress, simple background.

The top J-actresses appear to have a stranglehold in the audience love for the past decade and probably even earlier almost 15 years. A top J-news publication held a poll of viewers to pick their top J-actress of 2022. To no surprise Ayasa Haruka continues her perch in the top spot followed by Aragaki Yui second and Nagasawa Masami rounding … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Amami Yuki, Aragaki Yui, Arimura Kasumi, Ayase Haruka, Fukada Kyoko, Hashimoto Kanna, Hirose Suzu, Ishihara Satomi, Kitagawa Keiko, Nagasawa Masami

J-dorama Version of You From Another Star Airing on Amazon Prime Gets Panned for Miscasting of Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki After Release of First Trailer

A Koala's Playground Posted on January 21, 2022 by ockoalaJanuary 21, 2022
Actors posing for a photoshoot in contrasting styles.

Hahahaha, OMG this looks sooooooooo bad. Like, mwahahahaha trainwreck level bad potentially. The first trailer is out for the J-version of You From Another Star (My Love From the Stars) which premieres on Amazon Prime streaming on February 23, and one wonders if there is still time to re-cast and re-film the entire thing. Starring Fukushi Sota and Yamamoto Mizuki, … Continue reading →

Posted in J-doramas | Tagged Fukushi Sota, My Love From the Stars, Yamamoto Mizuki, You From Another Star

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