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.

Movie Monday – Battle of Memories (2017)

Starring: Huang Bo as Jiang Feng, Xu Jinglei as Zhang Daichen, Yang Zi Shan as Chen Shanshan, Yihong Duan as Shen Hanqiang, and Hsu Tiffany as Mystery woman

Rating: R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 90 min

Twinkies: 4 stars

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.

Movie Monday – Lucid Dream (2017)

Starring: Go Soo as Dae-Ho, Sol Kyung Gu as Detective Bang-Sub, Kang Hye Jung as So-Hyun, Park Yoo Chun as mysterious man, Park In Hwan as Sung-pil, Chun Ho Jin as Jo Myung-chul, Lee Shi Ah as Mi Yeo, and Jun Suk Ho as Choi Kyung Hwan

Rating: R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 101 min

Twinkies: 3 stars

Movie Monday – High and Low: The Red Rain (2016)

Starring: TAKAHIRO as Amamiya Masaki, Tosaka Hiroomi as Amamiya Hiroto, Saito Takumi as Amamiya Takeru, Yoshimoto Miyu as Aika Naruse, Iwata Takanori as Cobra, and Suzuki Nobuyuki as Yamato

Rating: R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 110 min

Twinkies: 4 1/2 stars

Movie Monday (Late) – Fabricated City (2017)

Starring: Ji Chang Wook as Kwon Yoo, Shim Eun Kyeong as Yeo Wool, Ahn Jae Hong as Demolition, Oh Jung Se as Min Cheon Sang, Kim Ki Cheon as Yeobaekui Mi, and Kim Sang Ho as Ma Deok Soo

Rating: PG-13/R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 126 min

Twinkies: 4 1/2 stars

Movie Monday – Confidential Assignment (2016)

Starring: Hyun Bin as Im Chul Ryung, Yu Hae Jin as Kang Jin Tae, Im Yoon Ah as Park Min Yeong, Kim Ju Hyuk as Cha Ki Sung, Jang Young Nam as So Yeon, and Lee Hae Young as Det. Squad Chief Pyo

Rating: PG-13, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 125 min

Twinkies: 3 stars

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.

Movie Monday – Master (2016)

Starring: Lee Byung Hun as Jin Hee Jang, Kang Dong Won as Kim Jae Myeong, Kim Woo Bin as Park Jang Goon, Uhm Ji Won as Shin Gemma, Oh Dal Su as Hwang Myeong Joon, and Jin Kyung as Kim Eom Ma

Rating: R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 143 min

Twinkies: 2 1/2 (first 50 min); 4 stars for rest

Movie Monday – Battle of the Remakes ~ Haunters vs Monsterz (2010/2014)

Starring: Haunters (See cast list here and Monsterz (See cast list here)

Rating: R, subject matter and some violence

Running Time: 114 min

Twinkies: 4 1/2 hypnotic stars