Four Japanese Dramas That You May Not Know About (2017-2018)

Shorter Japanese Dramas from
Fall 2017 & Winter 2018

The joy of watching Japanese dramas is the fact that they tend to cover and explore subject matters that are not the typical; the norm. The Japanese writers are particularly good at this and it shows with the the dramas that I have a pleasure to watch. As a drama watcher who doesn’t usually gravitate to the rom-com genre, I’m particularly excited to talk about these four dramas that came out during the Fall 2017 and Winter 2018 season.

Drama Weekend with Gomen Aishiteru (2017)

Gomen Aishiteru
aka
I’m Sorry, I Love You

I love remakes when they honor the original story and is done well. No surprise here that the screenwriter, Taeko Asano (Love Generation, Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake, Last Friends) and Director, Ishii Yasuharu (Byakuyako, Kurosagi, Ouroboros) would put together a great rendition of one of my favorite super melodramas, the Korean drama, Sorry, I Love You.

Japanese Winter Drama Season Review (2017)

Rakuen (2017)
Tokyo Tarareba Musume (2017)
Quartet (2017)
Seirei no Moribito II: Kanashiki Hakaishin (2017)

Sadly, I’m STILL watching Winter season dramas. Talk about biting off more than you can chew! I think I started a total of 20 dramas from this season and finished around 12 so far. Of the 12, I can safely say these four easily bubble to the top of my list. Let’s get started.

Drama Marathon – Bewitched in Tokyo (2004)

Inane, silly, fun? Just think about all the goofy adjectives that comes to mind and it pretty much describes this drama. I would definitely classify this as an ‘easy watch’. No drama tropes, no love triangle, and truly a remake of one of my favorite shows from the distant past, Bewitched with the late Elizabeth Montgomery.

Spring 2017 J-Drama Wish List

Spring 2017
Japanese Dramas

I’ve pretty much have done a post for what I want to watch since last winter season, 2016. It never fails that I’m always disappointed at the number of dramas on my list I DON’T get to watch. I think this season will be full of disappointments also. There are some I would be surprised if they aren’t subbed (Crisis and Boku, Unmei no Hito desu) and some that I kind of want to watch even more (Hokuto and Bouncer); however, here is my official wish list for Spring 2017. Not that long as there really isn’t a lot I want to watch but these definitely bubble to the top of my must-see list.

Japanese Drama Winter 2017 Wish List ~ Once Again Incredibly Long!

Without a doubt, there are so many dramas this season that I want to see. I was very fortunate that almost every drama on my wish list was subbed! As a matter of fact, I ended up watching a whole lot more! Thank you, subbers for making my dismal 2016 bearable. Now, if I can put these in my drama shopping list now, here are the dramas I am BEGGING get subbed this season! Yeah, the list is long once again!

Japanese Fall Season 2016 – A Banner Watch Season For Me!

Japanese Fall Season 2016

This had to be the best season to watch Japanese dramas! This was the first time that my watched list exceeded my wish list by leaps and bounds! The Fall season started in late September and now that we approach January, 2017, I’ve seen all but one of the dramas to completion. That is a total of 11 dramas! 11!! That is some kind of record for me! I loved that the season covered every genre: from thriller to crime, to romance and comedy. A little of something for everyone!

Year in Review – My Best Dramas for 2016

Best 2016 Dramas I Watched!

I always enjoy doing these end of the year posts. Why? My list never looks the same as everyone else. As I watch so many different genres and dramas from all the Asian countries, my list never looks the same. Another thing I notice is that I rarely like the popular ones. I think at my age, I get bored very easily with some of the drama tropes and romances. It’s a rarity that they even make it to my list! This year, for the first time ever, I watched more than double the number of Japanese dramas than Korean, I hardly watched any Thai lakorns and the Chinese dramas this year (that I’ve watched), didn’t bubble to the top!

ON Ijou Hanzai Sousakan Todo Hinako (2016) Episode 8/9 – Final Review-part 2

Final Episode

After the Detective Kataoka (Tsutomu Takahashi) is slashed by this new and crazy character, Makabe Towa (Sei Ashina). Besides the blue eye contacts, this woman is super NUTS. The ambulance arrives at the hospital and it is nice to know that he will live. At the hotel, the other detectives are canvassing the scene for clues. From reviewing the CCTV, it was shown that Sato Toyoru (Nozomi Sasaki) had taken the elevator to the 2nd floor. So, the big question is “Who was on Toto/Shoji’s floor?” They see the video of the floor with Makabe who hasn’t been identified yet. Did I saw that Shoji is now missing? That he is. The detectives know that the unidentified person was responsible for Fujikawa’s murder as it is his cell phone that was found in the room. Chief Atsuta notices that Makabe is saying something to Todo.

ON Ijou Hanzai Sousakan Todo Hinako (2016) Episode 8/9 – Final Review-part 1

Episode 8

How much do I dislike Shoji? Let me count the ways. As we are winding down and getting closer to the end, there is one thing that comes crystal clear. Shoji really thinks his attitude and police image is untainted. And also a new mysterious person enters into the fray and I have no idea who she is. To finish this up, I will first review episode 8 and then finish up with episode 9. Sorry for taking so long. It’s not because I didn’t like this drama; loved it. But real life in the last 4 months has been trying and disheartening culminating, with a death of a loved one. (For cast and synopsis information see Episode 1)