SumiTheCat

Indeed it could make sense, I was mostly bothered by the recap or the first episodes. There were scenes I didn't recall, exactly because I didn't watched them. I finally found it somewhere else, but that didn't make me like this drama more.

Thanks! I saw the news on FaceBook too. Can't believe it will be broadcast almost two monhts after the concert.
I'm not ready to part with them. But I'm also looking forward to how they lived this important time too.

Thanks a lot for this inspiring article. I like the way you are dedramatizing the process and giving tips to help us building the text (a big thank you for the thesaurus). I also enjoy your writing style, quite straight to the point, clear, without ambiguity about your opinion but always respectful of the reader, whether he/she is agreeing with you or not (this remarks applies to this article and globally to your posts on the feeds).

I'm not a reviewer, and I honestly barely read reviews (and never before watching a drama). I sometimes do when finishing a show, to see what other people thought about it.
That being said, I sometimes wish I could find the time to write reviews for some shows I particularly enjoy, instead of just posting my thoughts on the (friends) feeds. That would most likely be reviews for myself, but as you said, why not? I'm still afraid to be way too talkative about unnecessary things, but you convinced me it's not always a bad thing for readers.
The main problem would probably lies in the spoiler content. I personnally hate spoilers, but when I'm talking about a show I've finished, I'm more likely inclined to write things that could be spoilerish. It's sometimes hard to draw the line on that matter.

Once again thanks a lot. I'm currently trying to write a review, so you're article is coming at the perfect time!

Hello!
Sorry for being super late to read your article even though I had my eyes on it since I saw it on the front page.
Thanks a lot for this very detailed article on a very interesting topic (I've always wondered if something of the kind could be done on MDL, I'm quite happy to see you had the energy to do so). It was pleasant to read and to learn how things started in Japan, it is always so amusing to see how some encounters can dramatically change the course of history (that's why history is always so entertaining to study). Here it is for the better!
It's a shame the earliest works could not all be saved. I took a quick look at french references, but couldn't find anything refering to this early stage of japanese cinema, let alone links to the works you are mentioning.
I'm looking forward to the next installment, I'll try to be on time then.

Btw, I know this is off-topic, but your article and mostly the references of early works reminded me of a website the National Film Archive of Japan opened in late 2017 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the japanese animated films. it was nice to watch early works on that field too. I thought the site was temporary, hence down, but it seems it's still working perfectly fine. Leaving the link here in case you or anyone else is interested in those early works :
https://animation.filmarchives.jp/en/index.html

I did cry a lot and I'm also planning to rewatch it this week-end! Yay!

Does anyone know if there will really be 3 more episodes? I was wondering if they are waiting for the live to be rebraodcast before adding new things, but Netflix doesn't provide any information on it (or I don't know where to look for).

Reading it in 2021 makes it harder. Hope you enjoyed the live.

Teaser for episode 19 is out.
One thing for sure, the production knows how to make teasers! *sigh*

How to resist such a cast!

Thanks a lot for compilation, Hardworking Anime Lady!

When I read the title on the front page, I was almost sure you were the author...
Thanks a lot for this detailed, well written and interesting article (so refreshing to read your writing style always clear, on point and recognizable).

I won't say I really like and follow Kitano's work as I barely saw Battle Royale and Achilles and the tortoise and knew three or four of his other works titles . But I confirm that he is quite famous in France, and I can remember vividly how praised was "Kikujiro" when it was released here (still don't know why I haven't watched it yet despite it being the only of his work I would like to see). I'll probably take a look at "A scene at the sea", looks interesting too, and I'm torn about "Sonatonine" as I don't like yakuza themed stories.
At least I know I've watched "Achilles and the tortoise" (bought it on an impulse because of the art related story, at a time I was buying all the japanese movies available on DVD in my area - so very few in fact). All I remember is there were too many deaths in a short amount of time in what I thought would be a light watch -_-'.

So I'm quite happy to have learnt more about a well regarded actor/producer, thanks a lot.

As a side note, I've bought and read one of his book published in France : "La vie en gris et rose" (life in grey and pink, don't know what is the english title cause I can't find it), where he describes his post war life as a child: pretty interesting, I enjoyed a lot its slice of life and realistics aspects to it.

Hello.
Even if I can understand your feelings, I found some recent years shows quite interesting too. I don't know what you like, but you might enjoy dramas like Quartet (one of the best for me), Hanzawa Naoki, Unnatural, Byplayers, Kazoku Game, Wakamonotachi, Black Pean, Kekkon Aite wa Chusen de, Nigeru wa, Haji da ga, Shinhannin, BORDER, Juhan Shuttai!, Legal High, Mr Nietschze in the convenient store... all in very different genres... Hope you'll find something to your liking.

Thanks a lot for this article and the focus on less shown aspects of Japanese culture.
I haven't watched any of them despite having two on my PTW list. I really need to catch up with them.
Never realised Pin to Kona was about Kabuki, I'll consider it too. Despite not being a hardcore fan of Kabuli, this is defintely a very interesting art, very different from western drama (That being said that didn't prevent me from falling asleep the last time I went to watch an extract of a Kabuki perf).

Don't feel that sorry. Slices of life are maybe not the easiest way to get into Jdramas, all the more if the pacing is slower than in other usual stories. It might be a question of generation, but everyones taste are different.
As for recommendations, maybe something like Osozoki no Himawari could be more appealing, or Boku no Ita Jikan with the late Miura Haruma, Or Grand Maison Tokyo... Shinya Shokudo is available on Netflix.
My highest ratings ones are slices of life : this year Kotaki Kyodai to Shikuhakku, Kiseki no Hito, Akira to Akira, anone, Love that makes you cry (and generally any Sakamoto Yuji drama), and my personnal favorite Princess Maison.

So, Jeff said in his Lazada-live today that the show was 22 episodes including the special episode 0. So this serie will be only 21 episodes (and he said it would end at the end of the year, which doesn't seem coherent with the pacing). Will have to check other sources before editing the informations.
Soooo sad if there is only 5 episodes left...

On another note, I love how every episode and every teaser is crashing my theories, all the time. That's what I'm enjoying in this serie.
Off to rewatching episode 16...

Oh, what a nice article! Thanks for all the context indications, I think it could pretty useful for newcomers.
I don't know if I can call myself a veteran watcher as I'm watching Japanese dramas for 10 years now, but I do fully agree about the key points you mentioned about them.
I came to dramas from anime (like many people, at least at the time), at a time I wanted to try something different, and wanted to know if they only did tokusatsu genres (of course that sounds dumb, but that was the only thing I knew from Jdramas at the time).
My first one was Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. I soon watched all the most popular of that time: HYD, Nobuta, HanaKimi... I don't know if I'm nostalgic of that era or if it was easier to get addicted with the dramas of that era, but I got immediately hooked. I enjoyed a lot the anime influence in it (very different from the US shows I was watching at the time).
Part of the enjoyment of watching dramas at the time was also the fact that they were fansubbed by passionnate people. I mean, they put a lot of efforts in subbing the shows, and added a lot of context elements in their subs, like you did in your article. I learned all of those knowledge thanks to the fansubbers of that time (don't get me wrong, there are pretty good and certainly passionnate subbers nowadays, we can't thank them enough for what they do to provide us great series, it just seems there were more people doing it at the time... and things were done diffently).

That being said, there is a genre in which Japan excells that you barely mentionned : slices of life. This is an acquired taste as I found them boring at first, and I'm enjoying them so much nowadays. Is it because I'm aging, or is it just because Japanese dramas are pretty good at making you realise the value of everyday life and small things in life that makes it the salt of our lives?

Guesses about episode 16. Before watching the trailer, which is adding fuel to my imagination.

Thanks to Gameplay's Bts of episode 16 ("Closer"), we can finally understand the link between episodes 14, 15 and 16. My guess is in episode 14 Marwin wanted to introduce Tops to the man who is organising the Halloween Party he and his friends will have a concert in (carrot and butternut conversation, Win said it was for Halloween- i should have made the link at the end of episode 15, in the preview). Hence the way Win get mad at Tops was not only because Tops would have missed a big opportunity to showcase his culinary talents, but it also put him, Win, in a corner (and probably his friends too), because the organisator could have thought Win's friend is not trustworthy, hence Win is not either. By advisingTops, Win also took a risk for his own career. And the fact he managed to reschedule the interview was Win's way of apologizing to Tops. Unknown to us, this lack of apologize from Win was frusrating. If my guess is right, Tops knew very well what Win was doing for him.
As for the content of episode 16 in itself, I'm no longer sure we could have a proper confession (still hoping), and probably no kiss either(because they really like to tease us!) Well, I'm looking forward to this episode! My past guesses were often wrong, so we might have a nice surprise...
Of course Dome is the link between all the episodes (and I'm rpetty sure he only wants to help Win to make a move and confess).
As for the baby story, we might have an answer around Father's day time, as it is linked toTops's father, and as they used to make an episode around Mother's day. Many watchers are guessing it's Tops younger sibling, and I'm following them on that matter. Could lead to an interesting conversation between the two of them, but it will all depend on how their relationship is developping until then...

Thanks for all this compilation, that's a lot!
I laughed at the "Arashi... Arashi... Arashi..." and more Arashi members news!

You can also find it on the up bar with the big "New" icon next to it, under the Home menu, and under the menu attached to your profile pic.
The main calendar page gives you the dramas and movies airing this week, but you can also choose "My List" to see only the shows on your lists, and you can also filter by country.

Btw welcome to MDL. Have fun!