The end of the year starts counting down now and with it comes the unending stream of polls, surveys, and lists. Which makes it a good time to check back in with Japan entertainment to see how the tastes have changed, if any, after a bustling 2014 worth of doramas and movies. Below are two just released polls showing how … Continue reading →
When the J-dorama gods giveth they are oh so generous. And a bit piling on with so much coming at the same time. I’ve been following two J-doramas this season, both packed with some of my favorite actors and actresses wrapped in great storytelling. One of them is Nobunaga Concerto with Oguri Shun, Shibasaki Kou, Mukai Osamu, and Fujiki Naohito. … Continue reading →
This new J-dorama is coming in very low profile with the promotions but it’s high on my personal interest radar. The NTV dorama Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu (Today I’m Not Going to Work) is adapted from the popular shoujo manga of the same name and stars Ayase Haruka, Fukushi Sota, and Tamaki Hiroshi in an interesting love triangle of sorts. … Continue reading →
Holy bazookas is this upcoming J-dorama looking better and better. With less than two weeks left before the premiere of the Fuji TV getsu9 (Monday at 9) Nobunaga Concerto, the production blew me away with the release of the fantastic drama posters. I haven’t seen a single drama poster this creative with great narrative foreshadowing all year. Why can’t K-dramas … Continue reading →
Holy mamacitas what is this crazy star-studded cast of what is shaping up to be the biggest fall J-dorama around. Oguri Shun is headlining the upcoming Fuji TV 50th anniversary special dorama Nobunaga Concerto, a time-traveling story based on the popular same name manga. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, wait til you hear the line up for the … Continue reading →
Kyaaaaa, I cannot believe my J-dorama gods granted my prayers for the last month that the two leading men cast opposite Ayase Haruka in her new fall dorama would be right up my alley. The full casting news dropped this week for the live-action adaptation of the popular young ladies manga Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu (きょうは会社休みます translated as Today I … Continue reading →
Big news is brewing in J-dorama land but I have a feeling it’ll all work out. The highest rated dorama of 2013 (and of the last decade) was the phenomenal maybe once-in-a-lifetime tour de force that was Hanzawa Naoki. Pundits get happy when a KimuTaku dorama breaks 20% nowadays when before he would hit 30% or even 40% regularly. Hanzawa … Continue reading →
A super exciting J-dorama is on the horizon that promises epic bromance and the well-executed crime fighting detective procedurals that Japan does so much better than Korea or Taiwan. TBS is adapting the popular shonen manga Ouroboros: Keisatsu wo Sabaku wa Ware ni Ari into a Winter J-dorama starring Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma. It’s been 7 years since the … Continue reading →
Japan’s undisputed television ratings king hasn’t had the same success the last five years as he did the first fifteen of his acting career. I still don’t get the Japanese media’s fixation on Kimura Takuya‘s new doramas tanking in ratings because he’s never really had a genuine flop. At most a middling rated dorama is spun into some sort of … Continue reading →
My post on the Japanese tabloid news break about the dating relationship between Hana Yori Dango leads Matsumoto Jun and Inoue Mao made so many people happy on this blog and even brought lurkers out of hiding. That’s the power of HYD nearly 9 years later, unaffected by the lackluster Korean version Boys Before Flowers and surviving the hot mess … Continue reading →
Oh yeah baby it’s finally happening! Oguri Shun is returning to J-doramas after dropping one of my favorite performances in 2012’s Rich Man Poor Woman for Fuji TV‘s Monday at 9 pm timeslot. This time he’s joining forces with TV Asahi and is changing it up – Shun who goes from playing a socially awkward IT wunderkind to a cop who … Continue reading →
Are you guys ready for a Korean version of Chiaki and Nodame? Who could do justice to those two fascinating and eccentric characters? Ready or not Korea is preparing for a drama adaptation of the critically acclaimed manga Nodame Cantabile. I’m not a fan of the mangaka’s drawing or storytelling style so it was through the popular J-dorama adaptation that … Continue reading →
It’s a new year in J-doramas as well and the first one on my check-out list is Shitsuren Chocolatier (失恋ショコラティエ Heartbroken Chocolatier) with Matsumoto Jun and Ishihara Satomi. It’s based on a manga of the same name and for once it’s a manga I haven’t read despite it being highly acclaimed, having won the 36th Kodansha Manga Award for best … Continue reading →