well recently for the past 2 years, i've been somewhat hooked on watching the less serious and more comical j-dramas. many are adapted from popular manga series and usually showcase lots of up-and-rising young stars.
although the japanese always have adapted manga into live-action before, it wasn't until the recent years in which we see this sudden influx. i think they finally saw how successful the taiwan market has been in using this to promote their new actors/actresses.
between the japanese idol dramas (日本偶像剧) and taiwan idol dramas (台湾偶像剧), i very much prefer the japanese ones. it might just be plain biased, but i much prefer to watch manga adaptations in their original country and language.
so anyway, here's what i've watched over the last 2 years. have included various links to the dramas and cast so i don't have to do any summary.
disclaimer: as usual, only very biased opinions ahead.
Yamada Taro Monogatari (贫穷贵公子)
the very 1st idol-drama i watched. the japanese version was way funnier than the taiwanese version. the guys and kids were also much cuter.
starring Arashi members Ninomiya Kazunari (二宮和也) and Sakurai Sho (櫻井翔), together with Tabe Mikako (多部未華子) whom i always think resembles doreen alot.
Proposal Daisakusen (求爱大作战)
i couldn't resist the cute guy that looks like Takuya (Yamapi), so ended up watching this, which was quite funny given all the back-to-the-future stuff.
starring Yamashita Tomohisa (山下智久), Nagasawa Masami (長澤まさみ) and a favorite veteran actor of mine, Fujiki Naohito (藤木直人).
Nodame Cantabile (交响情人梦)
of course, i only knew of the existence of the live-action only after watching the anime. this j-drama needs no introduction here since i practically
there will be 2 more live-action movies coming up soon (within the next 6 months) and the final anime series will be airing in Jan 2010. the manga will also be ending its run in Spring 2010. big year for Nodame in 2010!
starring Ueno Juri (上野樹里) as our beloved Nodame and Tamaki Hiroshi (玉木宏) as wonder-whiz Chiaki.
Zettai Kareshi (绝对男友)
the very 1st show i watched that stars Mizushima Hiro, although i didn't really thought much about him then. only watched it cos it was an adaptation of a Watase Yuu manga. had doubts on how they could pull off the whole robot lover thing but i think Hayami did a good job as Night.
starring Hayami Mokomichi (速水もこみち), Mizushima Hiro (水嶋ヒロ) and Aibu Saki (相武紗季).
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (偷偷爱着你/花样少男少女)
i've blogged about this before. and really, this is a fantastic adaptation. so much better than the taiwanese version which was much too whiny and had too few cute guys.
Ikuta Toma was the best person to bring Nakatsu to life, and Hiro was much better than the taiwanese Nanba-sempai. though i wonder why both the taiwan and japan versions made Sano so emo, cos he's really not supposed to be like that.
starrring Horikita Maki (堀北真希) who did a great job as Mizuki, Oguri Shun (小栗旬), Ikuta Toma (生田斗真) and of course Mizushima Hiro.
Yasuko to Kenji (暴走兄妹)
seeing Hirosue Ryoko acting as a ex-gang leader was kinda weird at first cos i could never picture her as anything but polite. hilarious nontheless, especially her confrontations with Masahiro's character.
starring Matsuoka Masahiro (松岡昌宏) of Tokio, Hirosue Ryoko (広末涼子) and Tabe Mikako once again as a daydreaming high school girl.
Mei-chan no Shitsuji (我的帅哥管家)
finally finished this on monday night. not as light-hearted as the rest, cos there were lots of scheming and back-stabbing involved. but i still got to see Hiro in a butler uniform for most of the time, so i'm still relatively happy.
starring Eikura Nana (榮倉奈々), Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru (佐藤健).
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and against my better judgement, there's still many more which i'm trying to find time to watch, aside from all my unfinished anime and various movies.
listed in order of importance,
1) MR BRAIN - Takuya and Hiro all in one show. YUMMY!
2) Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey x Clover) - Toma! i've heard that it's quite good. let's hope it's comparable to the anime.
3) 1 Pound no Fukuin (1 Pound Gospel) - romantic comedy about a young wrestler and a young nun. hmm.
4) Code Blue - Yamapi as an aspiring flight doctor. can it hold up to the other medical series Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji?
5) Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji (Season 4) - incidentally, as i was browsing through the dramawiki webpage for Kyumei, i discovered that there's gonna be a 4th season starting in 11 Aug. yeah!! i love this show!
6) VOICE - another Toma show.
7) Majo Saiban -Witch Trial- - yet another Toma show.
hopefully, i'll have at least watched half of what i've listed by the end of the year. =P
for anyone interested, go to DramaCrazy.net. link also provided in sidebar.
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