Something not too sad or intense for a complete jdrama beginner?

Linus Author

Aug 25, 2017 04:52 pm

Hi guys, I recently decided that I'd like to get into some Japanese dramas and movies and see how they are. I do not want to start with something sad and depressing or very intense about war or torture. Not many intense thrillers are my thing. Could be a comedy, rom-com, story or life or police/crime drama. I watched the Mischievous Kiss and it was overacted and too cutesy for me. The female lead got on my nerves very quickly, too. It was the only Japanese drama I watched so far. Tips?
Also, if you happen to know that, could you tell me where I could watch those? I have DF and viki, but couldn't find anything there.

xire

Aug 25, 2017 08:14 pm

I'm a beginner as well, but I can recommend Nodame Cantabile. You can watch on Crunchyroll. I see you have the Korean version on your dropped list, so I will tell you not to worry that the original will be like it.

namopanik

Aug 25, 2017 09:06 pm

A very random selection:

http://mydramalist.com/6182-amachan - slice of live, 12 minute episodes, 50-something hours in total. Lovable characters, not too cutesy.
http://mydramalist.com/19882-jimi-ni-sugoi-koetsu-... - a workplace drama with a girl who wants to be a fashion editor, but ends up in a proof reading department. Subbing in progress (7/10).
http://mydramalist.com/453-trick - 3 seasons x 10 episodes + 2 movies and specials. That one may be slightly scary at times, but it's also very funny and wacky. Loser wannabe illusionist teams up with a physics university professor to expose cult scams.

Where to watch:

Netlix carries a few, but it's rare, so it leaves us with more or less shady streaming sites.
Kissasian had a large base, but it's changed a domain recently and it's acting up ever since, so I'd be careful. Newasiantv has some of its copies (like Amachan).
Dramacool, but quality may be very bad (don't have to be).
Fastdrama on newer ones.

Bae Gyuri

Aug 25, 2017 09:08 pm

I tend to like the very sad and intense so am leaving out a lot of the dramas I'd normally recommend to jdrama beginners, but a few that I enjoyed that you might be interested in are:

Nobuta wo Produce: school drama about two classmates who give a makeover to an unpopular student and find themselves in the process. Gets a lot deeper than it sounds.

Hanzawa Naoki: business drama about an underdog businessman rising up to the occasion, the highest rated Japanese drama by amount of watchers in Japan in recent years. It sounds dry from the description but is really great, especially if you have experience working for a boss or company with unfair and hierarchical power structures.

Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi: slice of life drama and episodic, but really sucks you in. Fantastic characters and acting.

Love Shuffle: I didn't like this one much but most everyone does, even those not really into jdramas. A romcom by a writer I usually really love, that goes in a different direction than most romcoms. A group of people decide to swap partners to see if they are really with the one they were meant to be with.

If you are willing to do a little more intense: The Quiz Show and The Quiz Show 2 are great, and similar to the Korean version of Liar Game.

If you are up for movies too, Initiation Love is fantastic!! I fell absolutely in love with it and it has a great surprise ending. I highly recommend it.

Linus Author

Aug 25, 2017 11:44 pm

Thanks so much for both the recommendations and the places to view them :) I'm getting excited about the upcoming weekend :D

Xire, I totally would be open to trying the Japanese version of Tomorrow's Cantabile.

Namopanik, thanks for pointing out all of the websites! I don't care about the quality too much if options are limited.

Songyi, if you have something sad that is really exceptional, I would be willing to give it try, too! Just not as the first or second one I try :D I noticed you mentioned two. I might give them a go after something lighter. I definitely would watch a movie, too! :)

Bae Gyuri

Aug 26, 2017 01:16 am

Something sad that is truly exceptional is Last Friends! Also LIFE if you are willing to watch a very intense bullying story, and Zeni Geba which isn't so much sad as a revenge story about a man who grew up poor and becomes obsessed with money as he infiltrates a rich family.

I wouldn't recommend it for jdrama beginners because it's very old and that might put a lot of people off, but Ikebukuro West Gate Park is a classic worth watching when you become accustomed to the style of jdramas!

kestrel

Aug 26, 2017 01:19 am

Hi!

Here are some of my favorite J-dramas:

Orange Days - The drama follows the college days of a group of friends, focusing in the romance between the male lead and a deaf woman. Also, it shows how the friends try to find their own path and dreams.
Osozaki no Himawari - A young graduated man from Tokyo loses his job and decides to get a job in the revitalization project of a country village. Slice of life, second opportunities, choices and crisis in your 25-something.
I second Nobuta wo Produce - this was my second dorama.
I loved Love Shuffle.

By watching your favorite dramas, there is one drama that might be in the line of Healer. The plot is different, but are about swindlers with a dark past:

Ryusei no Kizuna - Three siblings whose parents were killed when they were children are now young adults and gain money by conning people. Somehow they will find out more abour the killer. It mixes comedy with mistery and drama.

If you don't want to be sad, just avoid:

1 Litre no Namida, aka 1 Litre of Tears. A J-drama classic about a girl which has a degenative disease.
Taiyou no Uta (drama) and Midnight Sun (movie). A girl has a disease called XP (xeroderma pigmentosum) that doesn't allow her to go under the sun, so she can only go out at nice. Romance with drama. I loved the movie (well, the music).

@xire, I am not sure about Nodame Cantabille. I liked it, but the comedy has anime like feelings and is not everybody's cup of tea.

If you want more here there are some MDL articles:

http://mydramalist.com/article/2016/05/06/borders-... - Recopilation of remarkable examples of different genres.
http://mydramalist.com/article/2017/07/05/japanese-rom-coms-and-... - 5 japanese rom-coms.
http://mydramalist.com/article/2016/02/10/japanese-school-dramas-... - School dramas.
http://mydramalist.com/article/2015/06/23/japanese-comedy-doramas-part-1 - Some comedies.

Linus Author

Aug 26, 2017 02:12 am

Thanks, kestrel! You made your selection very clear. I think that I might start with Ryusei no Kizuna and Orange if I am able to find them somehow, but I will gladly take a look at your other recommendations, too. Thanks for telling me what to avoid when I'm not in a mood for a tearjerker!

kestrel

Aug 26, 2017 09:27 am

You're welcome :). It just that I know some people that the first drama they saw was 1 Litre no Namida.

IzzyDramaLover

Aug 26, 2017 09:50 am

kestrel

Aug 26, 2017 01:52 pm

I just realized that I wrote Orange when I meant Orange Days, my mistake. The link was correct, though.

xire

Aug 26, 2017 07:15 pm

Yes, it's true Nodame Cantabile is over-the-top, but it's also quite beautiful in my opinion. Maybe the manga it's based on was that way, too. Unless you really can't stand silly things at all, I still recommend giving it a try. I actually hesitated suggesting it since you mentioned overacting, but I saw you rated You're Beautiful highly, and I remembered Jang Geun Suk and Hongki played their characters pretty broadly. So I thought maybe you don't mind a bit of ridiculousness as long as it's well done :)

fanitha

Aug 28, 2017 04:46 pm

ROMANCE
Hana yori dango – it’s a must see it’s the classical Cinderella story but one of the bests ever done (2 seasons and 1 movie)
Buzzer Beat – good romance drama about 2 people that meet and fall in love but first they have to find the perfect timing for them to be together
Love Shuffle – it’s a story involving 4 couples and how they learn what love is
Pride – a classic romance drama with a mature couple who grow and learn from each other and also heal each others wounds
Tatta Hitotsu no koi – a very good romance and it’s a Cinderella story but inverse (rich girl, poor boy)
Hotaru no Hikari – this has 2 seasons and a movie, and it’s a bout a couple that has to live together due to some circumstances and gradually fall in love
We married as a job - this one is kind of a contract marriage relationship and it's very cute and ligh hearted.

COMEDY
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e – reverse harem a girl crossdressing and living in a boys shcool
Ouran High school host club – reverse harem a girl crossdressing so she can be part of the school’s host club
Mei-chan no shitsuji
My Boss, my hero – this drama is hilarious and it’s about a yakuza that has to go back to highschool in order to get his high school diploma, but he has to keep his yakuza status a secret

SLICE OF LIFE
Nodame Cantabile – very good drama with romance an music it has 1 season, 2 specials and 2 movies
My girl – it’s a drama of a man that suddenly finds out he has a daughter and has to live wit her.
GTO – If you liked Dragon Zakura you’ll like this one and the following one (Gokusen) It’s about teachers and troublesome students
Gokusen -
Dragon Zakura - a drama about a teacher that takes the challenge to teach a group of students and get them into the most prestigious school of Tokyo.

SUSPENSE
Maou – the best suspense drama ever!
The quiz show 2 – it’s about a Quiz show were they ask the contestants very personal questions in order to reveal their deepest secrets
N no tame ni – it’s about a group of friends that are united due to a double assassination and they hide who the killer is
Ryusei no Kizuna – a revenge drama about 3 siblings who look for the killer of their parents before the statute of limitations ends
Liar Game – it’s about a game that involves lying a deception in order to win
Kazoku game – it’s a psychological drama about a teacher and a family and his strange ways of teaching
Kurosagi – it’s about a swindler who targets swindlers due to his personal vendetta

SPORTS
H2 – baseball and romance united in a story about highschool life
Tumbling – a group of boys who bond through tumbling and find a dream to follow
Yowakutemo Katemasu – a different kind of underdog drama about a baseball team who challenges winning a baseball game with new strategies involving their weakness
Rookies - a group of students aim to enter the higschool national baseball tournament.

MOVIES
Death Note – a story about a student who finds a strange notebook, he discovers that if he writes the name of a person in that notebook that person dies from a heart attack. So he starts killing criminals. A famous detective named L swears to stop him. (2 movies)
Rurouni Kenshin – a period movie about a strong samurai and how he helps the restauration of a new era (3 movies)
Bokura ga ita - a romance movie about a couple that meets in highschool and fall in love. It’s the story if ther love and hardships (2 movies)
Heroine Disqualified – a rom-com set in highschool
Paradise Kiss – it’s about a fashion designer and a highschool student who turns into his model and their romance starts to bloom.