J-doramafan's Japanese Drama and Movie Blog

Japanese Get Down. (Geddan Boxing Video) - Song by Nitori ゲッダン"

2010-01-18T14:59:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I have come up with any Japan reviews for any new or old Japanese dramas. I've been quite busy lately and have done some traveling. I just came back from my NYC. I went there for New Years. Was there for about a week I had a blast seeing family and friends there. After that we made it back to Jacksonville, FL / Orange Park, FL. Good times, Good times.

Since, I havn't been able to update on anything Japanese related this should keep you busy for awhile. We were really bored. We saw how much fun those people had in making a "Geddan" video. So we decided to make one of our own. It was so much fun making it.

Til next post, enjoy this video!

- J

Japan dramas : Currently Reviewing

2009-06-25T13:12:00.004-04:00

Type: Japan dramas rant

June and July will be a pretty busy month for me. I've just recently completed some new Japanese drama and there are also some new Japan drama dvd that I also need to watch so I can make reviews on those as well. Feel free to suggest any new Japanese drama or the latest Japanese drama.

I have also randomly selected a winner for that i-pod shuffle. I will post a pic of the winner once they receive their prize. For the next drawing it will be a new Japanese drama dvd. I will buy Japanese dramas that are top rated Japanese dramas only. Dramas like Hana Kimi and other popular Japan dramas.

As far as suggestions go, send me a Japanese dramas list, preferably no more than 10 Japanese dramas. Submit to me at Jdoramafan@gmail.com .

I also mentioned on my twitter that I cancelled my trip to Japan for various reasons. I am also looking for people to write me anything that is Japan related, and I will post it here on my blog. This is just to keep my Japan dramas blog fresh with new content while I go on my little vacation. I will even include a prize for whoever can write the best article or review on Japanese related stuff. This includes Japanese love dramas, Japanese anime, new japanese drama, Japanese culture, stuff like that. Make sure that it is at least 500 words or more, but I guess if you can't write 500 words on those topics then I maybe be able to make a few exceptions. Just send those in the previouslly mentioned email that I provided.

So that's it for now. I will do my best to write a review on those new Japanese drama. Don't forget to send your suggestions also.

Till next post.

- J

Jdoramfan's Squidoo Page!

2009-05-30T22:00:00.006-04:00

Type: Japanese dramas rant

Hey guys! Check out my new Squidoo page. What's cool about it is that not only can you see a feed of my blog there but also a search field for Amazon where you can search the Japanese dramas and Japanese dvd's you are looking for!

For now this is how you can buy Japanese dvds through my blog. Eventually you will be able to buy the dvd directly from the dorama that I am reviewing!

---> J-doramafan's Click for Jdoramafan's Squidoo!

I also want to thank to all those at Crunchyroll for the feedback and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

- J

Chance! チャンス！

2009-05-24T21:36:00.007-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: Comedy
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air period: March 7 to March 14 2009
Number of episodes: 2 part special

Synopsis is as follows:

Horikita Maki Plays as Kawamura Tamaki who has a hard time landing a job. As she sifts through her mail she is turned down by just about every company, until the last letter where she is finally accepted by a travel company as a customer service agent. As a rookie she makes a mistake by accidentally doing a job meant for more qualified employees as a travel guide. However, the department in charge of planning and travel tours is impressed by the feedback she gets from the tourists. They speak of her in glowing terms and the planning department ends up hiring Kawamura. One day on the way to her new position, she bumps into Saori tamaki (Kuroki Mesa) and accidentally switches phones with her. As a result she ends up having to create an important presentation for her company giving her a "Chance" to make something of herself.

- What I think

This Japanese drama series is kept short and sweet as a two part drama special or "Tanpatsu".

The main plot is pretty straight forward after Maki accidentally bumps into Mesa's Character and switch cell phones. She pretty much has to fake it till she makes it. As predictable as it seems, it is still a fun Japanese drama to watch with little bits of comedy here and there. There is even a particular scene where Kuroki's scene collides with Maki's scene and they film it from each of the actresses relative point of view. Kind of like how they did the movie "Elephant" (google it and/or watch "Elephant" if you don't know what I'm talking about). It would've been awesome if there were more elements like that in this special. There is also a bit of a romance going on with Mesa's character which isn't realized until the second part of the series.

The music gave it a very Westernized feel playing various American hits throughout the drama. It was different but I liked it.

As far as the actors, Horikita Maki was as adorable as ever playing Kawamura Tamaki. Her role here is yet another step into becoming a more mature and even more capable actress as if reflecting her real life transitioning from a young tv actress to a grown up and professional drama queen. She is as enjoyable to watch as ever. It is very interesting (to say the least) to see Horikita Maki in this light.

Kuroki Mesa is a very good actress in my opinion and did well in this movie and can't really say anything more about that since she has a pretty simple role.

As for Gekidan Hitori, he added to the comedic value of this dorama with his goofy facial expressions and kooky antics.

All in all, Chance is an interesting Japanese drama, although for some reason I almost expected it to be a regular 10 to 13 episode series. I got the feeling that it was a bit short lived. It was fun to watch, but as big as a Horikita Maki fan I am, sadly to say, I give this Japanese dorama a four out of five riceballs. It was fun and I'd surely give it a chance. >_<

- J

Densha Otoko でんしゃおとこ

2009-03-26T21:57:00.027-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: Romance Comedy (Based on true story made into novel)
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air period: July 7 to September 22 2005
Number of episodes: 11

Synopsis is as follows:

In Densha Otoko also known as "Train Man" ,Ito Atsushi plays as Yamada Tsuyoshi, an otaku (geek) who's hardcore into Japanese anime. While taking a train ride, the beautiful Aoyami Saori (Ito Misaki) is harassed by an obnoxious drunk. On the same train is Yamada. Despite his Otakuness he musters up the strength to stand up for Aoyami. Thankful for Yamada's help, Aoyami sends him these Hermes teacups. Excited, he wants to thank Aoyami. There's one problem. He does not know how to communicate with women nor has he had any significant experience with them! The ecstatic yet confused Yamada doesn't know what else to do so he turns to a BBS known as the Aladdin Channel for help. His message reaches a spectrum of characters on the channel . Touched by his situation, the members give him tips and advice on how to act around Aoyami, whom he code names as "Hermes" on the BBS. He posts his every move on the The Aladdin Channel and is cheered on by his audience as well giving him adequate feedback.

What I think:

Ito Misaki plays a beautiful and elegant Aoyami Saori, aka "Hermes". She is well suited for the role with her slender figure and innocent facial features yet at the same time emitting a sort of snobbishness at first glance. Which makes you wonder how Atsushi's character could ever attain such a woman. Watching Yamada throughout the series was rather awkward with his excessive stuttering and facial expressions which I found quite hateful at times. This train man was just one big train wreck of a character. And even awkward still was his interaction with Aoyami. They had a sort of cute yet gawky chemistry going, just a very unlikely pair indeed. It took 3 episodes of getting used to the whole awkwardness of his character; almost like an acquired taste type of thing. As hateful as his character may have been, Atsushi's performance was very convincing to say the least. Just oozing Otaku. XD

Getting past all of that, the entire series is very entertaining with a colorful cast of characters, especially Yamada's BBS buddies which range from the normal to the WTF is that. The BBS community gave Yamada the confidence to pursue Aoyami and at the same time, touched their very own lives at home with his courage and persistence. Yamada's Interaction with the community seemed to be one of the more entertaining features with him receiving a unique reply from each individual.

As far as twists go, there doesn't seem to be too many of them in this series, everything seems pretty straight forward. To finish things off, this Japanese drama series is not bad and may require some audiences to get past the first few episodes just so they can develop a sort of "acquired taste" for Yamada's Otakuness. Other than that the story is interesting and since it is mostly a comedy it's sure to keep you laughing throughout the series.

Till next post,

-J

**On a side note, Horikita Maki plays as Yamada's somewhat mean sister Aoi. Finding her in dramas where she plays a less significant supporting role is sort of an easter egg for me since I'm such a big fan of hers.

Happy Birthday Ayase Haruka!

2009-03-24T03:03:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday!

Type: Rant

I just had to do a shout out to Ayase Haruka since it's her birthday and all. She's awesome in all the Japanese drama series she's in.

Happy 24 Birthday,

- J

Galileo ガリレオ

2009-03-24T00:22:00.013-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: Mystery
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air period: October 15 to December 17 2007
Number of episodes: 10

The synopsis is as follows:

Shibasaki Kou plays as rookie detective Utsumi Kaoru. Although she has a strong sense of justice and a strong will to see a case through to the end, Karou's reasoning is rather myopic. Her first assignment proves to be quite puzzling and near impossible to solve on her own. Stumped, she seeks advice from ex-colleague Kusanagi Shunpei (Kitamura Kazuki) who points her to the man that has helped him on a number of occasions, Yukawa Manabu (Fukuyama Masaharu). Otherwise known as Tantei Galileo (Detective Galileo). A genius physicist and university professor he is reluctant at first to help but when she explains the seemingly impossible circumstances to him, he becomes intrigued. However he can care less about the actual case itself, it is only the unexplainable phenomenon that interests him. Not willing to accept any super natural explanations, Yukawa is determined to solve the unatural occurance with his keen intellect and his uncanny ability to explain anything with Mathematics and Physics.

Here is a preview

What I think:

Unlike most Japanese dramas, each episode has a unique plot of it's own not at all adding to the main plot, as there is no main plot. There really is no one underlying plot involved in Galileo. The only two episodes that correlate to one another is episodes nine and ten.

As for the cast, Fukuyama Masaharu plays a composed and philosophical Galileo. Always keeping his cool and never losing face. Just maintaining a sort of monotone feel through out the series. Not to say his acting was dry but this is what his role called for so I think he pulled it off rather well. His stoic character was also balanced by Shibasaki Kou's animated and cute character making for a very interesting chemistry.

There is just about no romance involved whatsoever, although Fukuyama's and Shibasaki Kou's chemistry is bread and butter and as attractive as Shibasaki's character is, he is unphased by her stunning beauty. Even then, there was just what seemed to be a tiny hint of romance that you almost wished to happen but never went beyond speculation.

Aside from the anti-climatic romance or lack thereof, there were a lot of interesting facts in the series. I learned quite a bit and almost reminded me of Myth Busters to some extent. It even brought back memories of a Bunsen burner, some glass tubes and chemicals. No, not drugs but rather a classroom filled with scientific goodness and the smell of epic fail due to an attention span of that of a goldfish. Other than memories of adolescence and tube filled classrooms, the overall entertainment value of this Japanese drama is quite enjoyable and I even got to see one of my all-time favorite Japanese dorama queens, Horikita Maki in episode 6. That's like icing topped with more icing and a cherry on top served on glass tubes on top of a Bunsen burner.
Definitely a fun drama.

Till next post,

- J

Hotaru no Hikari ホタルノヒカリ

2009-03-23T14:35:00.027-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: Romance comedy
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air period: July 11 to September 12 2007
Number of episodes: 10

The synopsis is as follows:

Amemiya Hotaru (Ayase Haruka) works as an organizer for a well established design company. She just recently transferred from the sales department to work with the interior team. Her co-workers view her as an efficient worker that carries herself rather well. However, her private life at home is anything but efficient nor is she the same bubbly person they encounter at work. Living alone she loves to lay around and laze on her front porch rolling around in her own mess wearing jerseys not caring about love relationships, men or anything for that matter. She comes home every night to that same spot and drinks a canned beer and wakes up the next morning covered in newpapers. The complete opposite of her organized-self at work.

One day her landlord's son, Takano Seiichi (Fujiki Naohito), has a situation with his wife. They become seperated and he decides to live alone on his dad's property to reflect on himself. To his suprise he finds a girl living there. Takano finally realizes that it is Hotaru, the efficient organizer that works for him in the interior department! Hotaru and Takano agree to living together as boss and subordinate, not as man and woman. Given the circumstances, they must keep this a secret from everyone in the company, especially to Teshima Makoto (Kato Kazuki), the man she falls in love with.

What I think:

Ayase portrays Hotaru rather well. She has some unique and funny facial expressions when she's in her himono-onna (dried up fish woman) state yet at work keeps an elegant posture and a straight face. The Hotaru at work and the Hotaru at home are on opposite ends of the spectrum. It almost seemed a bit much as if there were two characters she had to portray. Either way, Ayase was just very amusing to watch.

Fujiki proved to be very entertaining with his role as well, playing the mature and professional Takano Sheiichi. Even at home he maintains his boss-like charactaristics but at the same was pretty funny when interacting with Ayase. The two of them were just very fun to watch when they were at home especially when Hotaru was in her himono-onna state. Very entertaining to say the least. As for Kato Kazuki's acting (or lack thereof) seemed rather bland and uninteresting with his character (Teshima Makoto). He was just dry and seemed to have no feeling. If not, that was just one very boring character he had to play. No need to go into it. Next....

There are a lot of silly moments throughout the series to keep you laughing but not so much that it loses sight of the main plot. It stayed on point and kept things on a sane enough level. On the romance side of things, there is a good chemistry between Ayase and Fujiki. They are just so comfortable with each other it gives off such a good energy. Not necessarily of romance but more of a certain level of comfort as if they knew each other on a deeper level. As for Takano living there with Hotaru, it almost puts him in a situation where a romance is sure to ensue. Even so, it is really hard to tell what his true feelings are for Hotaru. Their relationship stays rather platonic througout most of the series.

As the series progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to keep her situation and her alter-ego of himono-onna , a secret. Also the fact that there are two love triangles or better yet, a love web, further complicates the situation. There were a few twists towards the end that proved to be quite interesting as well .

The set was very clean, very good lighting and was easy on the eyes. As for the music, the most notable of the songs in the soundtrack was Kousaten Days sang by Ayase Haruka herself. Awesome vocals, the song is appropriate over the scenes it was played.

Overall, Hotaru no Hikari is a good drama that will keep you laughing through all episodes, however it could've used a little more of the romantic element, even so, my recommendation is still quite high for this drama. It's just very enjoyable to watch. Check it out.

Till next post,

- J

Nobuta Wo Produce 野ブタ。をプロデュース

2009-03-23T00:58:00.010-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: High School Drama
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air period: October 15 to December 17 2005
Number of episodes: 10

The synopsis is as follows:

Kamenashi Kazuya plays as the popular Kiritani Shuji. Very conscious about his image he makes sure that he comes off as likable to everybody. He is the kind of guy you can always count on. Dependable and lovable he can mingle with any crowd. However there is one guy he just can't stand and that is Kusano Akira (Tomohisa Yamashita), the weird and flamboyant guy that says and does funny things. Things get stranger still when new student Kotani Nobuku (Horikita Maki) is assigned to their class. She is very meek and has almost no self esteem she tolerates being pushed and shoved around by her fellow classmates . Seeing her lack of social skills Shuji and Akira are motivated by their youthfulness and agree to "produce" Nobuku and make her the most popular girl in school. The rest of the series centers around these two guys "producing" Nobuku in secrecy. So there is the popular guy, the weird guy, and the social misfit coming together not only as a team but as friends to meet their goal in making Nobuku popular. But the magic lies not in their situation but in the unlikely friendship between these three students.

What I think:

I found Nobuta wo Produce to be very entertaining. It had some deep moral issues on friendship as well as bullying. I was moved by how resilient they were in spite of set backs they faced due to an unforeseen saboteur or saboteurs every time they were able to accomplish a goal. There are a lot of good values to be learned here as well as other lessons in life that most high school students face these days. The chemistry between the three and most notably between Shuji and Akira is like that of Oreo's and milk. They just go good together. Other than epic bromance moments the story is solid and the actors involved are all well suited for their roles. Horikita Maki's role is more than adequate earning her best supporting actress for this series. A most enjoyable dorama indeed.

** Just on a personal note, I was very disappointed when I bought the Japanese DVD of this series which it wasn't even Japanese made. I ordered it from Ebay. There were subtitles and everything but the names were different! The names were changed to some Chinese names ling Xing lee and sung Xu or something. And the quality sucked. So if you are looking to buy some good quality Japanese DVD's off of Ebay then please make sure you can trust that seller,otherwise buy it from some trust worthy place you know of. XD

Till next post, kon kon

- J

Hanazakari no Kimitachi/ Hana Kimi 花ざかりの君たちへ

2009-03-22T13:24:00.013-04:00

Recommendation:
Genre: Romance comedy high school drama
Type: Japanese Dramas TV series
Air Period: July 3 to September 18 2007
Number of episodes: 12 + 1 special

The synopsis is as follows:

Horikita Maki plays the part of Ashiya Mizuki, a Japanese girl from America. One day she sees high jump athlete Sano Izumi (Oguri Shun) compete in a track and field competition in America on TV and becomes attracted to him.

About one year later she decides to transfer to his school. With one slight problem; it turns out to be an all boys school! She ends up enrolling herself disguised as a boy and the story revolves mainly around her and the young athlete and of the incident that happened in the past when Sano was competing in America. She is determined to get him over his past and pushes him to regain his ability. This becomes her primary reason for transferring to Japan but there seems to be something more....

Here's a Preview

What I think:

OK so the series consists of 12 episodes and a special not to mention the other Live special. It's a very funny drama. This series is especially good for people into useless and random antics, as there are a lot of those scenes played throughout the drama. For those of the more serious type, they may find Hana Kimi to be rather stupid and silly as it turns out to be more of a comedy than anything else. However, the viewers are warned in the beginning of the first episode of the foolishness that was to follow ("Please excuse the silliness of this drama" or something to that effect). It had a very interesting plot and there were several sub-plots throughout the story where it was a bit unecessary as it really did not help to advance the main plot. Although it did, keep the viewers interested since most of these "side quests" involved quite a bit of stupidity. Stupid yet entertaining. It got the audience's attention.

The cast is extremely vibrant and are well suited for their roles. As amusing as the other characters were, Horikita Maki's role wasn't as silly or foolish as the others. She leaned towards a more serious tone of acting than anything else while maintaining a cute and lovable quality to her. It was just fun to watch her. All the other characters gave a very strong sense of comedy to the drama it was almost ridiculous.

As for the romance, the chemistry between Maki and Shun were adequate enough. However, the overall romantic value could've been more pronounced in terms of, let's say, lovey doviness. The romance isn't really fully realized until the later episodes.

Ikuta toma as Nakatsu Shuiichi , brought a sort of "flaming" element to the series. Starting in the second episode he begins to like Mizuki. Which is very confusing and quite traumatizing for him since Mizuki is supposedly a guy, so he then begins to question his sexuality and starts to realize that he maybe a homosexual, but doesn't realize at all that Mizuki is really a girl, which really makes him straight, if that makes any sense. He adds yet another level of comedy to the story and does it with such confidence and snappiness, his performance was just awesome.

As for Oguri Shun, it seemed he did his job. His role as Sano Izumi didn't call for too much. It fit him well.

The one thing that I can truly appreciate in the drama is the lighting and the colors as well as the setting. Everything was so vibrant and just sort of fit together like some photoshop enhanced image. How does one express "0_0"?

To sum it all up, Hana Kimi is just very entertaining to watch with some interesting twists and an epic amount of randomness to keep your eyes glued to the screen like Nakatsu glued to Mizuki's face. My reccomendation is extremely high for this Japanese drama whether you like the element of stupid or not. Simply put; a pleasure to watch.

Here's a Music Video just for that. Haha.

So check out Hanazakari no Kimitachi, I highly recommend it. I would buy the dvd for best quality. You just can't appreciate in it's entirety with a low quality stream on the internet. So go buy Japanese movies and dramas or subscribe to a high quality video feed. Watching low quality just sucks. At least for me it kills it.

- J

Intro. Hi All!

2009-03-22T01:10:00.010-04:00

Type: Rant

Hi! Welcome to my blog Jdoramafan. My main focus will be on Japanese dramas/ Japanese drama series (J-doramas if you will) and Japanese Movies and maybe even some anime. There may even be some personal that correlates to the Japanese culture (i.e. JDM cars, Travel in Japan, Japanese actors, that sort of thing).

I write my reviews based on the overall plot, the chemistry between the main roles and other little personal notes. I also try to keep it as brief yet concise as possible without spoiling the entire story.

To read my most recent reviews/blogs CLICK HERE

I am open to suggestions and if you have any questions or any Japanese dramas or movies you would like me to review, I would be more than happy to write one up.

Send your suggestions and comments to Jdoramafan //at// gmail //dot//com