JDrama: Recommended and Discussion

[Hikyuu]

Ok, so since last week I made a complaint about the lack of Jdrama threads, I am taking some initiative to change that right now. The following is a list of the Jdrama/live action which I have enjoyed (basically everything I have seen) and Where to find it (that is right I am going to do most of the work for you). Most J-drama is kept in soft subs format and uses the re-encoded raw. Each episode is usually 44/45/46 minutes to an hour( There are occasions where two hour specials and the like appear). Instead of giving a brief description I will just link it to D-addicts wiki site. They do a much better job then I will ever do. A lot of J-drama is available on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com)... or Crunchy Roll (http://www.crunchyroll.com) but unless you pay at crunchy roll, the quality suffers. So, my preferred method is actually downloading it. Due to its lack of popularity/market J-drama is usually never released internationally or subtitled /dubbed.. Anywho, without further ado ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nobuta wo Produce - Nobuta wo Produce (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nobuta_wo_Produce)
Download (http://d-addicts.net/torrents/nobuta%20wo%20produce.torrent)
Stand Up!! - This series is kind of old so it's is difficult to locate but Should be on Youtube
Stand up!! (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Stand_Up!!)
Nana - This was released in two movies I believe -- I will update this when I ask my friend Ling where she got it
Kimi wa Petto - This was unbearably hard to hunt down -.- I ended up only being able to get the rmvb through some backwater IRC channel - When I get some more free time this too I will see if I can procure for you folks ^^
Kimi wa Petto (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Kimi_wa_Petto)
Death Note- Live action move parts one and two Were subbed by Sars-Fansubs and mishicorp coop.
Death Note Part 1 (http://a.scarywater.net/mishicorp/%5BMishicorp-SARS%5D_Deathnote_Movie_-_1_%5BLive-Action%5D%5BXVID%5D%5B6DCF4027%5D.avi.torrent)
Death Note Part 2 (http://www.mininova.org/tor/719387)
Hana Yori Dango S1 and 2 - Great series turned Jdrama -- Stars Matsumoto Jun and other note worthy people.
Hana Yori Dango (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hana_Yori_Dango)
Both seasons are listen on Sar-fansubs site, unfortunately there is no BATCH file, so I am not sure of the health on the individual files.
Sars-Fansubs (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hana_Yori_Dango)
Dragon Zakura - I actually just finished watching this last night after much putting off. Great show though.
Dragon Zakura (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Dragon_Zakura)
Download (http://d-addicts.net/torrents/dragon%20zakura.torrent)
Gokusen - I was only able to make it through season 1 of this series.. Season two just made me miss season 1. Gokusen (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Gokusen)
S1: Sars-Fansubs (http://www.sars-fansubs.com/index.php?)
Season 2 (S2: http://d-addicts.net/torrents/Gokusen%20Season%202.torrent)
Densha Otoko: Great series from Open till close. Even it you are not a fan of J-drama, I recommend you watch this.Densha Otoko (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Densha_Otoko)
Torrent (http://d-addicts.net/torrents/densha%20otoko.torrent)
EDIT: I forgot Kurosagi
Kurosagi (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Kurosagi)
Download page (http://www.kiokukonseki.com/?page_id=8)

Haven't seen:
1 Litre of tears
1 Litre of Tears (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ichi_Rittoru_no_Namida)
DL page (http://www.kiokukonseki.com/?page_id=8)

-- I am not sure on the health of these releases they may need reseeding

If anyone else has seen something they really enjoyed please feel free to add to my compilation~ If you want to discuss, that is cool too ^^

[Animeniax]

Some recommendations from me:

Orange Days - young adults try to find their way in the world after college, great cast and story
My Boss, My Hero - hilarious comedy about a yakuza that has to graduate from high school in order to be the next boss of his group.
Densha Otoko - agree with Hikyuu, really good series about otaku culture
Hotelier (Japanese version) - remake of a Korean series based on a Japanese manga. Ueto Aya is a babe
Attack No.1 - sports drama about girls high school volleyball. Ueto Aya is a babe
My Little Chef - cute series about a chef with the ability to make people happy through food (Ueto Aya is in a supporting role, but she is a babe)
Attention Please - basically an advertisement for the airline industry trying to recruit stewardesses. Ueto Aya is a babe
Tiger and Dragon - a comedy about a yakuza who tries to learn the art of story-telling by retelling classics with real world current events
1 Litre of Tears - sad story about a young girl and how she deals with a debilitating illness, puts the drama in j-drama
14 sai no haha - a cute story about a 14 year old who gets pregnant and how it affects everyone around her

Others I've seen:

Anego
Ace wo Nerae
Shimokita Sundays (seen the first 4 eps)
Kou Kou Kyoushi 2003
Hana Yori Dango
Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
Taiyo no Uta (movie)
Honey and Clover (movie)

Other I have but haven't watched:

Dragon Zakura
Kimi wa Petto
Nodame Cantabile
Taiyo no Uta (drama)

If anyone wants links to direct downloads of most of these, pm me.

[Hikyuu]

Do you have the good quality of Kimi Wa Petto I would love it for my Collection.. I was going to put 1 Litre of tears on my list but I couldnt find a torrent for it and I also Have not seen it. I have only heard great things about it.

[Animeniax]

Yeah, I have both. Check your pm in about 5 minutes.

How do you typically figure what series you want to watch, suggestions from friends, chatter on d-addicts or another forum, or what? I tend to pick series based on chatter on this other forum I haunt, and based on which actresses are starring in the series.

[Zati]

Nagase's an awesome actor, I love most of his roles. MBMH, and Tiger & Dragon was just great and funny, his facial expressions are priceless. Mukodono, and IWGP are two other great series by him.

And don't forget GTO guys.

[Hikyuu]

I decide by actors/actresses and Friend recommendations.. If you noticed there is alot of Matsumoto Jun and Yamapi (Yamashita Tomohisa) stuff on my list as I <3 them both XD

[Zati]

Well, if you like them, *cough* like the countless number of fangirls.

Try :

Bambino (Jun)
Kurosagi (Yama)
Proposal Daisakusen (Yama)
Ikebukuro West Gate Park (Yama)

[Hikyuu]

I actually am about to try Bambino.. and I FORGOT TO PUT KUROSAGI IN MY LIST ><

I couldn't find active torrents for the last two... or subs I forget which..
EDIT: Im a fan boy though so it's all good.

[Animeniax]

@Zati: definitely agree about Nagase, love his roles in T&D and MBMH. Have you seen Yan Papa? I was thinking of checking it out, but I don't think it's a comedy and I don't know what he'd be like in a serious role. I also like Tsumabuki Satoshi (Orange Days). I seek to emulate either one in order to score with the cute Japanese girls.

I'm completely opposite form Hikyuu about guys like Jun Matsumoto and yamapi. I'll pretty much not even bother watching series with them, especially yamapi. I can't see his appeal to girls, beyond a vague pretty boy quality that annoys me.

[Zati]

Lol, I use to be like that too. I just didn't like to watch these pretty boys trying to look good and cool, it pissed me off. But nowadays, I don't mind as much, because some of their series that they star in are pretty good, if you can just get by their pretty boy thing.

I haven't watched Yan Papa, so can't suggest anything there. And believe it or not, I'm still watching Orange Days right now. I just never got to watching it before, even though I had it stored. And it's one of the classic great series out there, so I need to get on that, heh.

[Animeniax]

I need to get to that point too, because a lot of these guys star in so many shows that I'd normally want to watch if they weren't in it. If they happen to be in a series where I like the female lead, I'll watch it, but there haven't been many of those.

Here are some female actresses I follow:

Ueto Aya
Ayase Haruka (Sekai no Chuushin de, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi)
Yamaguchi Sayaka (Anego, Shimokita Sundays, 14 Sai no Haha)
Sawajiri Erika (1 Litre of Tears, Taiyo no Uta)

I'd like to see more series with Horikita Maki, Toda Erika, Shibasaki Kou, and Uehara Misa.

[Zati]

Yeah, most of these guys star in like every other series, so you probably will encounter one of their series sooner or later.

Yup, you already know that I love Maki-san. I also love Itoh Misaki (my first crush, was dling like all her series before, she's from Densha, but I think you know that already),
Aragaki Yui, Nagasawa Masami (was most desired, there was this survey or something, like who men would want to marry, and she was #1), and Sawajiri Erika, round up my top five, lol.

Inoue Mao is pretty popular too, I only watched HYD with her in it, though. I need to start her latest series First Kiss soon.

I'm still watching Attention Please with Ueto Aya, like I told you before :) Dling Attack No.1 still.

[Animeniax]

I forgot about Itoh Misaki, who was awesome in Densha Otoko like you said and hilarious in T&D. I hear she'll be starring in the live action of Maison Ikkoku but I haven't seen it available anywhere except maybe torrents, which are blocked by my company firewall. I also want to see more of Aragaki Yui, who was great in MBMH and is so damn cute.

I wanted to like Nagasawa Masami, but I couldn't stand her in Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu, so I stopped watching that after 2 episodes. I'll finish it sometime hopefully, as well as Dragon Zakura. I thought she was good in the movie Nada SouSou, but I only saw half of that on an airplane trip. I'm trying to find the non-bt download of Proposal Daisakusen, maybe I'll learn to like her and yamapi in one swoop :o .

[Zati]

Heh, I never got the chance to watch Sailor Fuku yet, but I know about it. Yeah, I only watched two of Nagasawa's series which was Dragon Zakura, and Proposal Daisakusen. Proposal Daisakusen is pretty popular, there was lots of discussions about it.

Ito Misaki is also currently starring in Yama Onna Kabe Onna. And yes, there was a Maison Ikkoku SP that was released by SARS already. It was only a Special though, I think.

By the way, how about KDramas? There are some nice ones out there too. I am only watching one currently, which is Coffee Prince (one of the hottest, and popular Asian dramas right now). Full House, and My Girl are the two other KDramas I've watched.

[GhostKaGe]

Dandori (Dance Drill)
A cute drama based on a senior high school cheerleading team in the Kanagawa Prefecture senior high school. It tells about how a girl named Aikawa Kaname follows her dream in becoming a cheerleader by first starting a cheerleading team at her high school.

Gachibaka
Former pro boxer Tetta Gondo (Katsunori Takahashi) has come to Kaki-no-ki-zaka High School as a beginning teacher. The school hopes to restore finances by improving the students’ abilities and strengthening its baseball team. Tetta goes head-to-head with his class full of failing students who have no ability whatsoever in sports and studies. Everyday, he passionately encourages his students who have no drive at all. School is not just a place to study. It’s a place to learn how to live! If it means helping out his students, Tetta won’t hesitate to snap at the parents and school. Tetta Gondo’s slightly dangerous class is about to begin.

Waraeru Koi
This is a Christmas drama special with Massu. This series tells the story of 4 people, following their experiences with love and friendship during the Christmas season. A heart-warming tale full of laughs and surprises as the plot unfolds

14 Sai No Haha
It's about 14 year old girl who gets pregnant and although everyone is against her she still decides to give birth to the baby.


all of the above can be found at http://www.massuki.com/ (Direct Downloads)

also check out
http://www.crunchyroll.com/
http://www.d-addicts.com/
for more J-Dramas

[Animeniax]

Heh, I never got the chance to watch Sailor Fuku yet, but I know about it. Yeah, I only watched two of Nagasawa's series which was Dragon Zakura, and Proposal Daisakusen. Proposal Daisakusen is pretty popular, there was lots of discussions about it.I don't want to discourage you from seeing Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu, it seems like a good story concept, if not quite original. I just haven't seen any dramas with Nagasawa that I really liked.



Ito Misaki is also currently starring in Yama Onna Kabe Onna. And yes, there was a Maison Ikkoku SP that was released by SARS already. It was only a Special though, I think.Oh crap, I think you're right about Maison Ikkoku only being a special. I thought it was going to be a series. Guess there isn't enough subject matter for a multi episode series.


By the way, how about KDramas? There are some nice ones out there too. I am only watching one currently, which is Coffee Prince (one of the hottest, and popular Asian dramas right now). Full House, and My Girl are the two other KDramas I've watched.I haven't tried any K-Dramas yet, since I'm not really into Korean culture. I've heard "My Name is Kim Sam-Soon" is supposed to be great, but I doubt I'll ever see it unless I run out of J-dramas and anime to watch.

I also have a hard time liking dramas with this guy:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/static/images/thumb/6/60/180px-NarimiyaHiroki.jpeg

He was likable in Orange Days, but plays a scum bag in Kou Kou Kyoshi 2003.

[Hikyuu]

I think the real question is does he play a scumbag well...

[Zati]

I've never seen Kou Kou Kyoshi 2003, so dunno anything about that.

Oh yeah, Abe Hiroshi is another great actor, IMO, just like Nagase. He's been in a lot of great series, like Trick 1-3, Dragon Zakura, My Little Chef, At Home Dad, Hero, and Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (I loved it, was hilarious). Sorimachi Takashi is another one too, he did a great job as Onizuka.

Kimura Takuya is also another one of these guys (like Yamapi) that lots of fangirls like, because he's in all these romance series. Most of his series gets high ratings.

[Hikyuu]

Bah >< I have so much stuff tooo wwaaaatchchchch I really need to make a formal list so nothing jumps

[Sapphire]

Great Teacher Onizuka
A great JDrama based off of a hard core dude getting a job teaching a bunch of gangsters who basically want to kill him. WTF why does that sound like Lean on Me? Oh well, It's a great series and I pretty much watched it all in one sitting.

The Imperial Household
This is actually a KDrama. It's very unlike most KDrama in that it's not all sappy and tear jerky. It's about some random commoner who has to marry a prince, who is in love with someone else. I didn't really watch the last few eps, but DEFINITELY worth the watch. (Very original, humorous, funny)

Autumn Tale
Another KDrama. A total sappy tearjerker, but something that draws you in with all it's twists and turns in the plot. It's about some girl who got swapped in birth, and has to go live in a worser place with harsh conditions.

It started with a Kiss
Canto Drama. CDrama. A funny show about a chick who falls in love with a genius and finally confesses it... only to be turned down and become the laughing stock of the whole school. ohshi-!

Nana was amazing, I've seen the first movie. Sort of sucks that they replaced Hachi for the sequel though. I've seen 3 eps of Densha, which was only cool because it had Oguri Shun, who is ultra hawt and also in HYD. I loved HYD, but didn't have the chance to watch the last 2 eps of the second season. The girl (Tskushi/Inoue?) from HYD was also in the live action Grave of the Fireflies, but I think the animated version was better.

I DEFINATELY want to see the Nodame live action, since the anime was simply a masterpiece.

[Sapphire]

Good lord, people on here really, REALLY don't watch JDrama here, huh?

Just finished Kazoku Game (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Kazoku_Game), which was pretty awesome, though I felt a little sick from it when I woke up in the morning.

[Ryllharu]

Good lord, people on here really, REALLY don't watch JDrama here, huh?

Well...that's because k-dramas are better.

[Animeniax]

I stopped watching J-dramas a while back. They got really formulaic and copied each other, so each season had 2 or 3 shows with the same theme. I think the season I stopped watching was all hospital dramas starring the same 3 or 4 actors and actresses, and super-sleuth crime dramas where some super detective figured out cases that no one else could solve.

There's a reason that J-dramas only last 10-12 episodes each... they get stale real quick because the Japanese don't cover more controversial topics. They like to pretend they live in this fantasy world where people don't do dumb things, don't commit crimes, and the only source of drama are unfortunate illnesses.

[Sapphire]

@Ani: Not sure why, but the same jdramas we wrote about in 2007 are still big now, kinda without many new good ones to take the spot light. Kazoku Game was a pretty good deviation from what you're saying, though. I actually ended up being kinda disturbed. You should check it out, you'll know if you like it within the first hour.

I'm definitely using jdramas to improve my Japanese. Some of the leads are toooo sexy, though. *cries* I DON'T NEED TO BECOME A SQUEEING JPOP STAR FANGIRL.

I can, however, appreciate the sexiness of my fellow Jdrama females:


http://i.imgur.com/AhFeN2Tl.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/AhFeN2T.jpg)

Above is Helter Skelter, a movie full of style and sexy mc sex sex. A classic 'plastic surgery gone wrong' movie. It's on BakaBT.

I have never seen a Japanese full length feature film with sex scenes. NEVER. Where do I get more!!!?one!

@Haru: Which kdramas?

I watched You're Beautiful, but that devolved into a super melodramatic love triangle and I had already gotten enough from cross-dressers-need-love-too plots since Hana Kimi, Ouran, etc...

Korea does movies right, though. I recently watched You Are My Pet (with the You're Beautiful guy) and Old Boy again. My Wife is a Gangster and Innocent Steps are good. I have yet to go wrong with a Korean movie.

[Ryllharu]

@Saph:

I got extremely addicted to Prosecutor Princess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecutor_Princess) (2010) a few months back. The female lead was really good at the comedy parts to it, as was the actress playing her mother. It's not quite a straight-up comedy, nor is it a straightforward romance series, and there are even some detective aspects to the story. A lot of character growth as well. Overall, it was a very well-rounded series.

It spends a lot of time making you think it will be one thing, then doing something else.

The only downside was that they play two songs from the soundtrack over and over and over, often in places it doesn't seem to fit.

[Munsu]

So I've been watching a lot of international (for me) shows in the past few months, and right now I'm watching some K-Dramas through Netflix and DramaFever.

Any recommendations on that regard? I usually prefer when they have some action and mystery/thrillers. Don't mind romance, but not as the sole focus which seems what is most abundant around.

So far I've watched:

Descendants of the Sun - Liked it

Forest of Secrets (Stranger) - Excellent, but have a couple of episodes yet to watch.

Mr. Sunshine - Enjoying it so far.

City Hunter - Enjoyed what I've watched so far.

Strong Girl Do Bong-soon - It's OK, but has some fun parts. Hated the two male leads.

Black - Watched about 4 episodes, but hasn't grabbed me yet. Feels quite disjointed so far, and female lead is not that good.

Man to Man - It was alright, didn't care for the female lead, and I thought they dropped the ball at the end with a particular character I liked.

Will try some JDrama, but not yet.

[David75]

I started watching JDramas some years ago. Then the major site where I could get info on shows had to stop linking to download sites/torrents and I stopped caring.
Team medical dragon was fun for example.

[Ryllharu]

Someone requested this, so here's a bunch of Korean films and TV series I've watched recently. Almost entirely through Amazon Prime Video.

Coin Locker Girl - This was a very brutal crime drama that I really enjoyed. Characterization and development was good. Plot isn't that revolutionary, but it felt very rooted.


The Villainess - Similar vein, but this is one hell of a crazy revenge movie. It's somewhere between Nakita, Hardcore Henry, and Hanna. Amazing cinematography and fight choreography.


THE IDOLM@STER.KR - Initially, I thought it would be stupid. It's IdolM@ster, right? But this tv series hits the right notes because Korea's idol group culture really is that weird. There's personal drama of course among the girls and their manager has his own issues, but it handled the whole kpop culture really well. The characters were each well developed, their character arcs solid, and it's really hard to dislike anyone in the series.

How to Use Guys With Secret Tips - This movie was bizarre. It's funny, it's a typical Korean romantic comedy, but some of the story elements feel more in like with Katamari Damacy. It's funny, the comedic timing is great, and it's just weirdly funny.

The Handmaiden - I love pretty much all of Park Chan-wok's work. This movie is...incredible. It's a thriller, it's a bit more mainstream than the rest of the stuff in this post due to the awards it has won, but this is a film that needs to be watched. Surreal, maddening, satisfying, breathtaking.


Our Little Sister - This one is Japanese, but was a very solid family drama.


Love Clinic - This was a really stupid Korean romantic comedy (I want to reiterate here, that like....95% of Korean movies are romantic comedies) about two doctors. It's stupid, but it was funny as hell.

[Munsu]

I started watching JDramas some years ago. Then the major site where I could get info on shows had to stop linking to download sites/torrents and I stopped caring.
Team medical dragon was fun for example.

I don't know about JDrama right now, but via Netflix and DramaFever I'm getting just about any KDrama if you want to give that a try.

And thanks Ryll, I'm looking more TV Shows per se, but will see about giving those movies a look.

[David75]

I'm now used to Japanese dubs and when I tried Korean shows I lost some/most of the fun watching.

[Ryllharu]

@Munsu, I don't subscribe to the DramaFever channel, so I have better access to movies than dramas. That said, I am considering it. $4.99/month...is remarkably tempting.

More to come, because I have a strange addiction to k-dramas and Korean movies.

[Munsu]

@Munsu, I don't subscribe to the DramaFever channel, so I have better access to movies than dramas. That said, I am considering it. $4.99/month...is remarkably tempting.

More to come, because I have a strange addiction to k-dramas and Korean movies.

I subscribed to it, but now looking at their collection, I'm not sure if it's that good. I'm considering Viki which seems to have a bigger collection.

My DramaFever sub is $1 per month cheaper because of location.