Where to start with Jdrama's

JDramas are like art students..

They are singular, unique & quirky, but they got depth that only few people can appreciate, comprehend & embrace. From the way i see it, no matter what the genre is, doramas are divided into two types of project, either they go full on loud & chaotic, so you would want to just suspend reality for a while & just enjoy it.     Or they do it with little to no lines at all, you would find yourselves think & feel so much, and even reflect about your own life while watching.

Since you seem entirely new to Jdramaland, i'd suggest you to kick off with some J-movies first, just to get the feeling of how characters in J-dramas usually roll. Although most Jdramas usually consist of 10 episodes, if one is not used to their pace, people would quickly label them as 'awkward' or 'draggy'.

But, if you're someone who enjoy tv series than movies, than  i'd probably should also let you know that, almost all J-dramas, except for the ones done by Netflix, share this nearly identical non cinema look filter. I read somewhere online it has some thing to do with budget provided by the tv station. Having said that, if you found the well made ones, their script quality would remain tight nonetheless. 

I recommend Unnatural & Miu 404 for comedy-crime genre, also Ichikei's Crow for legal-comedy section.

House of Ninjas for spy-action genre, this one is on Netflix. (one of the best Doramas i've seen in many many years)

For romantic comedy, i got Nodame Cantabile & From Five to Nine (the comedy part of this one in particular can only be thoroughly enjoyed by open minded people, otherwise you would most def dislike the male lead character).

And when you've eventually been exposed to enough Dorama and are finally used to its comedic timing & pattern, then maybe you're ready for some straight up pure, solid comedy of Dorama in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e  & Fuben na Benriya .

^^

 jaxca:

I just want to say that I love jdramas specifically because they have a different feel from what I usually watch.  They're charming and enjoyable in their own way.

I think I just need the right show to get me into them. I've been provided with plenty of choices to try.

Hi Paul!

First of all, I saw your 2000+++ Currently Watching list....lol 

I think there are some good jdramas from that list that you can give a try. Since you want to branch out, why don't you start by watching the older stuffs first (if you can find a way to watch it and don't mind old aesthetic)?

Candidates from your list that are less quirky, less weird, with easy to digest topic (hopefully):

• GTO 1998 (no romance)
• Good Luck!! 2003 (supposedly romance but not the main theme)
• Engine 2005 (no romance)
• JIN 2009 (slight romance, time travel)
• Gokusen 2002 (no romance)

Please note that the above dramas might not be masterpiece, but they have the traits that what made Jdramas popular back in the days. There are more that I can recommend especially those that are not in your list, but I guess that will be enough for starter. 

Maybe if you manage to finish one you may be able to watch another. If not, then most probably Jdrama isn't for you and that's okay too.

 PaulUK:

Thanks

Thankerbelle  I unintentionally was already doing your 1st step Japanese movies seem the easiest way in.

I have House of Ninjas already on my list and will check the other recommended shows out.

I'm going to try and finish the 20+ K & Cdrama I'm partway through then I'll dive into a Japanese show. I have no issue with 40 episodes Cdramas so length should not be issue 

Happy to help PaulUK ^^

I hope you will soon find that one dorama you genuinely enjoy watching despite all of its eccentricity..

I was you 2 years ago..but the other way around.. i accidentally returned to C-dramaland after almost 2 decade hiatus as a viewer, although i grew up watching HK & Chinese movies, i never saw their tv series,. And to my utmost surprise, a single season of C-series with 40 episodes apparently was a normal thing, i was shocked. 

I thought it was too much, and i could never finish them.

So i started over my viewing experience from right where i left off, through movies.

Two of them were Better Days  & A Sun, needless to say, i was blown away by both. Almost immediately i also thought to myself i want more of their well made cinematic productions, but in the series format cause 2 hours of good movie is simply not enough. And around that time, The Double found me, and just like that i ate my words & finished 'em all in no time.

On top of that, China & Taiwan truly know how to double down the quality of a riveting crime thriller plot, the acting department & the cinematography quality are highly reliable. i daresay some of them are much better than K-dramas genre wise.

@Thankerbelle 

Hong Kong movies Mainly Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Bruce Li etc was what I enjoyed as a teen in the 90's, then I tried Stephen Chow and Tony Jaa ( Thai) in the 2000's.

But I all of a sudden completely stopped watching anything out of Asia around 2008 not even martial arts movies, not sure why tastes must have changed.

Then 2023 I got sick of Western (Well mainstream Hollywood) films and Tv and that led me into Asian dramas specifically Korean, after accidentally clicking on "The Beauty Inside" (Series) on Netflix being drawn in by the beautiful Seo Hyun Jin and now 2 years later 95% of what I watch is Asian lol.

Talking about the 40 episode shows, I attempted a Taiwanese 72 episode one and gave up like 25 in lol.

Ohh.. you're me, PaulUK

But i paused C-movies slightly earlier than you, i think the year was 2006. Precisely when Dorama had confiscated nearly my full attention, before Kdrama also came along.

Never realized it had been that long until i picked it up again a couple years ago. But i think that's what makes C-movis & tv series seem much more interesting than K & J dramas these days..

Watching them now brings back so many good ol' memories from the comedy i was once familiar with through the golden days of Boboho, Jimmy Lin, Stephen Chow & Takeshi Kaneshiro, but plot wise it also offers so many various stories that are told with so much depth & intricacy.

72 !? i could never, dear..   may i know what's the title?

Been planning on checking out The Knockout since it appears to have received positive reviews by the critics & audience alike, but i internally gasped at the number of episodes it has. ^^'