Yes, Meng got it right! Another famous theme would be "Affair in the Afternoon of the Danchi's Wife" or Danchizuma Hirusagari :P But nowadays the trend is more on NTR which can also be combined with the themes above. Sorry for the unrelated info...lol
Yes I like this kind of article...hopefully to see more of this coming!
About the discussion, I did not watch both dramas so can't really say anything about it....but for this kind of theme, I'd prefer the JAV version... :P
I would say the mystery is quite good. Despite mystery dramas tend to disappoint you with the revelation at the final episode, this one did it the right way in my opinion!! I have seen countless of worst ending than this in Jap mysteries....so this definitely won't disappoint you like what SOME people have said!
But the stories continues, so it's still too early to judge....nonetheless to me this first part worth 9/10, potentially the best mystery this year?
Too bad the story is quite nice for slice of life, but something was wrong with the direction! It did not feel heartwarming at all despite the friendship, and family tags. Some scenes were shot as if this was a mystery drama...LOL Some of the background musics did not match the scenes and some were too good that made you concentrate on the musical arrangement instead of the story.
Haha...Kyo Kara Ore Wa jokes didn't work on me too, and TBH even Metantei jokes were slightly better in my opinion. The only thing that made me watched till the end for Kyo Ore was the fight scenes and the conflicts between the delinquents..
Yes, like what others have said Fukuyama Masaharu is different in this because we always see the cold, arrogant kind of acting from him...maybe different actor could do it more naturally...but while I don't fan Fukuyama except for some of his songs, I still see he did a good job for this role...it's just that the character didn't match with his "sophisticated" look....haha...
Overall the story is less intriguing and the plot is "usual and predictable" but still managed to keep me until the end...
Interesting stuff (not story related) 1. Kagawa plays the subordinate role 2. Some actors are the familiar faces from the TBS Ikeido Jun series, although this is from novels of different author 3. IGARASHI is the Man of the Match in this drama :P
Re-watched this one more time to get the feel before watching special. What I can say it's still funny and amazing. After watching it for the 2nd time, I still feel that over-the-top Dako is the main entertaining factor of this drama. Dako - cruel, manipulative, selfish, and greedy but a genius mastermind Boku - naive, softhearted, mamaboy and easily get manipulated but good at doing conjob Richard - old but gold
This drama is a bit unique in the sense that you can't guess it's direction. Just like what other commenters have said, you'll be surprised with how unpredictable the genre is. At the beginning it looks like a fun fluffy teen drama, then suddenly you'll get that psychological vibe (like kazoku game) with a bit of mystery. Some episodes will make you wonder if you're watching a musical...LOL and there will be some comedies too throughout the drama.
Overall an okay drama to watch during your free time, but might not be intriguing enough to be watched back to back. Instead of wanting to know what happen next, you will be more curious with WTH the genre is...so that what makes you watch until the end..ROFL
Tenchijin might be good for those who want to try NHK taiga drama for the first time. The logic used in the script is more relatable to other non-jap historical series. Therefore in my opinion, is easier to follow through as long as you know the basic of old japanese politic system.
However it might disappoints the seasoned watchers due to over-cheeziness characterization of the main lead. The script failed to describe certain events clear enough that it felt a bit forced at some points and at the same time over-romanticized certain other events to add unnecessary cheeziness to it.
I can't remember most things in this drama, but I think it has a good portrayal of the abusive relationship because even in real life most of this kind of cases only been exposed when it's already late or things have turned into tragedy like someone get killed (either abuser or victim or their kids).
About the "rape" point above, yes I heard/read the same thing long time ago especially on "Chikan" cases (not sure how it is now). But I doubt there's a clear definition of "rape" in Japan society judging from the genre list in their JAV and all other "pinku" films...LOL
Thanks for the hard work to you guys and thanks for writing the article!
To bad I do not agree with few of the above listing and even the "followed by" list was bit off in my opinion. This is more like a popular list instead of best list, because 1 of the sorting criteria is to look for number of viewers and obviously more people will watch for popular actors and newer dramas.
Some of the surprises: - Kazoku Game as the best family drama. I like this drama for it's psychological aspect but couldn't see it fit for what we're looking for in normal family genre. - Todome no Kiss second in Comedy genre?? - Amachan under Sport tag is LOL - Long Vacation is under Music list but not in the Romance? - Long Vacation, Aishiteru Ittekure, Love Generation, Pride not in Romance list? - Hospital genre is missing the most legendary drama Shiroi Kyoto - I wish at least Iryu Team Medical Dragon was in the Hospital list
Good: 1. Did not follow suit school drama cliche, where disobedient kids tamed by teacher 2. Nice island scenery 3. Good mid pace slice of life drama 4. Remind me of Segodon
Bad: 1. Not heartwarming enough to beat previous island related dramas like Dr Koto and Ruri no Shima 2. There were only 4 non-islander students instead of 10 written in synopsis 3. Unavoidable island cliches i.e. old age population, no doctor, younger generation leaving island, school doesn't have enough students
Big disappointment! I wish they could have focused more on the swordplay as described in the synopsis...LOL The only good thing about this is it's decent visuals, but the plot is so unrealistic.
If you're interested in Japanese history, this drama is a must! Because Date's family is one of the richest/important Daimyo during the Edo period. The drama was nicely written with a bit of comedy on some scenes so you will not get bored along the way. On the downside, Masamune's character is psychologically unbalanced especially during his younger days. Therefore, some viewer might find it distasteful considering he's the main hero in this drama but some of his actions are not likeable.
Not recommended unless you are into Japanese Sengoku Period. The pace of some episodes are draggy, and the writing did not have a coherent focus on either the war+politics or family+women affairs...resulting in a so-so historical drama...fuurin kazan is far better Takeda Shingen's story in my opinion.
3 
1 
1 
But nowadays the trend is more on NTR which can also be combined with the themes above. Sorry for the unrelated info...lol
About the discussion, I did not watch both dramas so can't really say anything about it....but for this kind of theme, I'd prefer the JAV version... :P
But the stories continues, so it's still too early to judge....nonetheless to me this first part worth 9/10, potentially the best mystery this year?
Overall the story is less intriguing and the plot is "usual and predictable" but still managed to keep me until the end...
Interesting stuff (not story related)
1. Kagawa plays the subordinate role
2. Some actors are the familiar faces from the TBS Ikeido Jun series, although this is from novels of different author
3. IGARASHI is the Man of the Match in this drama :P
Dako - cruel, manipulative, selfish, and greedy but a genius mastermind
Boku - naive, softhearted, mamaboy and easily get manipulated but good at doing conjob
Richard - old but gold
Overall an okay drama to watch during your free time, but might not be intriguing enough to be watched back to back. Instead of wanting to know what happen next, you will be more curious with WTH the genre is...so that what makes you watch until the end..ROFL
However it might disappoints the seasoned watchers due to over-cheeziness characterization of the main lead. The script failed to describe certain events clear enough that it felt a bit forced at some points and at the same time over-romanticized certain other events to add unnecessary cheeziness to it.
About the "rape" point above, yes I heard/read the same thing long time ago especially on "Chikan" cases (not sure how it is now). But I doubt there's a clear definition of "rape" in Japan society judging from the genre list in their JAV and all other "pinku" films...LOL
To bad I do not agree with few of the above listing and even the "followed by" list was bit off in my opinion. This is more like a popular list instead of best list, because 1 of the sorting criteria is to look for number of viewers and obviously more people will watch for popular actors and newer dramas.
Some of the surprises:
- Kazoku Game as the best family drama. I like this drama for it's psychological aspect but couldn't see it fit for what we're looking for in normal family genre.
- Todome no Kiss second in Comedy genre??
- Amachan under Sport tag is LOL
- Long Vacation is under Music list but not in the Romance?
- Long Vacation, Aishiteru Ittekure, Love Generation, Pride not in Romance list?
- Hospital genre is missing the most legendary drama Shiroi Kyoto
- I wish at least Iryu Team Medical Dragon was in the Hospital list
1. Did not follow suit school drama cliche, where disobedient kids tamed by teacher
2. Nice island scenery
3. Good mid pace slice of life drama
4. Remind me of Segodon
Bad:
1. Not heartwarming enough to beat previous island related dramas like Dr Koto and Ruri no Shima
2. There were only 4 non-islander students instead of 10 written in synopsis
3. Unavoidable island cliches i.e. old age population, no doctor, younger generation leaving island, school doesn't have enough students
On the downside, Masamune's character is psychologically unbalanced especially during his younger days. Therefore, some viewer might find it distasteful considering he's the main hero in this drama but some of his actions are not likeable.