kitty10

Nice to see Tamaki Hiroshi and Kinami Haruka here.

Some other couples worth mentioning are:
- Miura Tomokazu and Yamaguchi Momoe (legendary couple)
- Emoto Tasuku and Ando Sakura (more of film)
- Takeuchi Yuko and Nakabayashi Taiki
- DAIGO and Kitagawa Keiko

Haha, perhaps, but it's also not something he can shake off, it seems. He doesn't quite have the acting chops to do so, and it now seems to be a staple that his co-stars outshine him almost every time.

Or the kind who always seem to play themselves in whatever roles they take on *coughkimutakucough*

Nice, long article! It's good to see J-dramas being featured more often. I dropped Doctor X after season 2, and while I did see bits of season 6, it seems nothing much has changed. Daimon is no hero, and would loathe to be seen as such. Also, I remember Yonekura Ryoko wanted to stop doing Doctor X after season 3, but I guess things worked out differently.

He's Taiwanese, not Japanese. Also, he's a terrible actor.

Haha, yes, it's great to get some discussion on Japanese dramas on MDL, since the entire site is so k-drama-centric it gets a bit stifling. Have enjoyed reading your views!

Also, I think Higashino's novels are generally better than the adaptations - Byakuyako TV version, for example, was too melodramatic, but the novel is fantastic. Quite a few have English translations already, so that's a bonus.

Tanaka Kei... ahhh, I'm just so glad he's getting his time in the limelight now. I've always thought he's so underrated, but it's so nice to see him in leading roles, and I also like that he's still taking on small or cameo roles here and there as well. Fingers crossed too that the dramas we want to watch get subbed!

Mmm... I think you're a bit harsh on Shinzanmono. The original novel did not feature Kaga being preachy or anything, and the TV adaptation kept, more or less, the essence of the novel, only it expanded on the role and development of an originally minor character in the novel. It also added some taiyaki humour.

The spinoffs/sequels etc unfortunately take on a more preachy tone than I would have liked, but I watched them mostly because I like Abe Hiroshi as Kaga. If I recommend Shinzanmono, it is the original TV adaptation (and the novel). The sequels are more if one is a completist and must watch everything in any given drama or film franchise.

Unfortunately, a lot of Japanese tv is sexist, because that's the way much of Asian society works. There are a lot of cultural norms that are not easily understood unless you are part of it. That's not to say we accept it when we watch, but that not every instance of the poor female who needs to take advice from an older male needs to be called out for being sexist, because sometimes it is not. Sometimes people are just stupid, regardless of gender (I believe the son in the Wings of Kirin was also an idiot, and the girl's boss wasn't kind either). Sometimes they make wrong decisions, sometimes people offer (unsolicited) advice and maybe it sparks the other person thinking. Sometimes, people just need help and are grateful to whoever offers a helping hand.

Anyway, all this is to say it's fine if you don't want to watch Shinzanmono. I hope you find something else you enjoy watching :)

The Odagiri Joe River's Edge can be sexist in a sense, since it has a rather airhead female character, talk about boobs and stuff. But the character is street-smart in another way, and she is pretty likeable. The drama also looks at the seedier side of Tokyo, which we don't often get in dramas.

As for Shinzanmono, I never thought it was sexist, and am not sure why you would think this way. Care to enlighten me?

I liked River's Edge Ookawabata Tanteisha, that was pretty offbeat and fun. I'm also very fond of Shinzanmono, which I recommend wholeheartedly. There are other Shinzanmono sequels/prequels as well.

For a mystery with a manga background, try Yami no Bansosha. For locked-room mystery, Kagi no Kakatta Heya is decent (the male lead can't act, but one lives with it).

I found Mozu very tedious.

Thanks for this, I thought I was the only one who felt that way about the leads, but everyone was going on about how cute they were, and how they seemed like a real couple already dating, etc.

I liked Sato Takeru's pairing with Nagano Mei quite a bit in Hanbun, Aoi.

I also read a couple of upset comments on RuroKen's instagram account, about how Arimura doesn't fit the image and aura of Tomoe. She's dead eyes and expressionless, so maybe the director figured she didn't need to act much. Sorry, still pissed at this casting.

Well, she liked him like how most girls like tsundere characters. They believe they can change a bad boy. But you're right, their romance was just there for the sake of the plot needing romance.

I never understood what Tendo saw in Sakura. Ryuko-Nishi was pointless. And they did Miori's character a real disservice by writing her this way.

Finished the drama only for Sato Takeru. I hope he picks a better role next time.

Hmm... I have to say that I am not attracted to younger actors like Yoshizawa, Yamazaki Kento and Yokohama Ryusei, who seem to all look alike, and who are kind of all we see these days. For these three, they are tolerable to watch, but I also think it depends on the project. Yamazaki, for example, was average in Todome no Kiss, but improved for Good Doctor. I barely remember Yokohama from AnaBan (I completely forgot he and Tanaka Kei played weird buddies there), but he's so far okay in Shiro-Kuro.

But I can agree that with the younger generation of actors and actresses, having good looks has helped a lot.

Mackenyu is not there yet, I agree, though like you say he shows promise. I had expected someone around Sato Takeru's age to take the role, or at least a slightly more established actor, but Mackenyu is not offensive as yet, so I shall wait and see.

As for Arimura, she has shown next to no improvement in the stuff I've had the misfortune to see her in. Her eyes are dead and her face expressionless . She was terrible in Nanimono, for one, where Sato and Nikaido Fumi pretty much carried the film. I would have liked someone like Kadowaki Mugi to be Tomoe - at least we know she can act.

I disliked film Kaoru and put it down to both acting and script. I have not read the manga, but heard that manga Kaoru was much more kickass.

The BG cast was mediocre. The story was also run of the mill.

Fingers crossed the Aoi Yu/Issei SP will get subbed.

Looking forward to the Tanaka Kei and Tamaki Hiroshi dramas. What luck to see both Tamaki and Takahashi Issei in the same drama! Want to see his SP with Aoi Yu too. Also nice to see Nikaido Fumi in an asadora, hope her role is good.

I hope Sakai Masato is being paid lots for Hanzawa Naoki season 2, seeing as he was reluctant for years to do a sequel.

BG season 1 was a snore, didn't need a season 2.

I haven't seen Kingdom, but have watched Yoshizawa Ryo in a couple of things previously and he was decent. Also, he's not an idol - that would be for people like Johnny's singers who try to hack it in acting.

I also find Arata Mackenyu fairly decent, so I have no major issues with his casting.

Arimura can't act and can't emote. I can't decide who is worse - Arimura or Takei Emi.

Many thanks for sharing this. Appreciate your effort!

Disappointed with the Tomoe casting, so I have nothing else to add.

Yeah, I just think it sucks that they saw the need to mess with a great ending. Mada Kekkon just doesn't feel right, so I skipped it in the end.

I didn't watch Mada Kekkon, but I think I read from early synopsis of the drama that Natsukawa's character gave up on Kuwano and left him. I honestly find that hard to believe, but whatever. Seems she went on to marry someone else.