Also-- thanks for writing something about Japanese media/talent! I get rather tired of looking at articles about "Top 10 Drama this" or "Best Drama that" only to realize the writer is solely looking at K-dramas.
Love all these guys (esp. Okada) but you missed a golden opportunity to use a picture of Suzuki Ryohei as the titular vigilante hero in the 2013 movie Hentai Kamen* because he was in AMAZING shape for that film (go look at the movie's cover-- I'll wait-- and yes, that's him under the mask). Let's just say his, uh, hero "costume" leaves little to the imagination).
(*a.k.a. "HK: Forbidden Superhero"-- also I should add that despite the title/premise it's a really cute, funny film and his character is actually a sweetheart.)
This list is sorely lacking in J-drama representation (I'm guessing the writer doesn't watch J-dramas?) so I will throw in:
Soratobu Kouhoushitsu's tragically grounded pilot/JASDF officer Sorai Daisuke, who is ADORABLE. Just sweet and likeable and cutely awkward sometimes and, well, it's Ayano Go so he's *real* easy on the eyes too. Also:
And last but not least, Legal High's high-spirited lawyer Komikado Kensuke (also Sakai Masato) - (ahaha, just kidding, he's an a**hole but I love him anyway).
Ooku (2010) is great! I also recommend the J-drama prequel that came out in 2012 (btw, the other "Ooku" titles listed as "Related Content" to these are not in fact related, beyond sharing a title word).
Um, I'm pretty sure this is NOT a remake of the 2010 Ooku movie or the 2012 J-drama Ooku: Arikoto Iemitsu Hen. Those are based on an ongoing alternate-history manga by Fumi Yoshinaga wherein the male population is struck by a disease and young men become a prized commodity in a culture run by women. This seems to only share a word in the title and is not related at all.
I also had to laugh in ep.09-10, now that she's responsible for managing other talent, Ryo is definitely starting to act a bit jealous that she's paying attention to someone else-- specifically the other young actor/rival. But oh, his scenes with her son are adorable! And he fits right in with her family, he even sits in her ex-husband's spot at her parents' dinner table...
In case anyone's interested in something (relatively) new, the 2015 J-drama Bijo to Danshi is shaping up to be an older-woman/younger-man romance and it's about halfway fansubbed at this point (though be warned, as it's a J-drama it's a bit more... hmm, subtle than your average K-drama at the development of the romance-- like, if you're looking for really obvious emotional cues & fanservice moments, this drama doesn't do that).
This show, now that's it's being regularly (and surprisingly quickly!) fansubbed, has quickly become my must-watch-first…
Re: ep.07-08: At this point it's juuuust sort of starting to spark, since they've now *ahem* dealt with the fact that she begins the show with a husband(!) (though it should be noted that the marriage is probably already doomed before Ryo appears on the scene, and when it finally breaks it's for non-Ryo-related reasons). But with that barrier out of the way, it's evident that there's the start of some more-than-strictly-professional affection in the way he sees her. As the audience we're privy to how his gaze is starting to linger on her when she's not looking (not in a creepy way of course), how he smiles to himself in those moments, and the somewhat-conflicted look on his face when she cries on him during a particularly vulnerable moment.
This show, now that's it's being regularly (and surprisingly quickly!) fansubbed, has quickly become my must-watch-first…
Well... the show's just as much about the 2 leads navigating the ins & outs of the entertainment industry and learning to work together as it is about the love story, and since it's a J-drama the romance isn't lathered on too thickly (though personally I prefer romance in these carefully measured increments, because imo waiting for it makes the payoff all the greater). But it's been a while since I've seen an (intentional, canonical) drama romance that I've enjoyed as much as I have this so far (ironically K-dramas, which are often *focused* on the romance, lately have left me unmoved by their heavy-handedness, but maybe I have strange tastes).
This show, now that's it's being regularly (and surprisingly quickly!) fansubbed, has quickly become my must-watch-first show every week when new subs come out.
I'm so, so happy someone decided to sub it; I've been waiting (and hanging onto the 720p raws) since it aired last year in the hopes that someone would give it a go, and I've not been disappointed!
I recently saw some pics from a photoshoot he did with Nikaido Fumi and I pretty much had to do a triple-take because I could've sworn he was Suda Masaki-- of course it helped that he was sporting a similar cut & color hairstyle as Suda lately-- but still, the resemblance (there at least) was striking. Like, if they ever need someone to play his younger brother this guy would be a convincing choice.
I liked this movie and I think it has a *great* message, but I kept finding myself wishing we'd spent more time with the "brain" characters. Part of this may have to do with the fact that I'm a fan of both Nishijima Hidetoshi & Kamiki Ryunosuke and wanted to see them act together a bit more. When I first heard about this movie I expressed the desire to see *those* two play the two men in Ichiko's love triangle, until I realized that the characters they did play were more interesting, frankly.
Having (finally!) watched the first SP with subs, I'm very excited to see (presumably) Katherine return to Japan (and Ichiro!) to solve another mystery!
It's almost as if on MDL the default category for "drama", unless stated otherwise, is Korean.
Oh a less snarky note, it would be helpful if an article is only going to talk about one country's shows, it be noted in the title of the article. Because I'm not really interested in K-drama OSTs and I wouldn't have clicked the link had I known.
Hmmm. It's not great and it seems like waaay too much drama is happening already but I think this is probably to blame on the source material perhaps? (Shoujo manga not being known for its subtlety after all.) Oh well, it's less than a half-hour per ep and Fujigaya as usual is *extremely* easy on the eyes, so it's ~25 min. well-spent in that respect at least.
(*a.k.a. "HK: Forbidden Superhero"-- also I should add that despite the title/premise it's a really cute, funny film and his character is actually a sweetheart.)
Soratobu Kouhoushitsu's tragically grounded pilot/JASDF officer Sorai Daisuke, who is ADORABLE. Just sweet and likeable and cutely awkward sometimes and, well, it's Ayano Go so he's *real* easy on the eyes too. Also:
Library Wars/Toshokan Sensou's gruff-until-you-get-to-know-him Lt. Dojo Atsushi (Okada Junichi);
Beach Boys' goofily-charming wandering ikemen, Sakurai Hiromi (Sorimachi Takashi);
Strawberry Night's quietly reliable Kikuta Kazuo (Nishijima Hidetoshi), devoted righthand man to his tough-as-nails Shunin;
Ooku: Arikoto Iemitsu Hen's gentle, thoughtful monk-turned-male-concubine, Arikoto (Sakai Masato);
And last but not least, Legal High's high-spirited lawyer Komikado Kensuke (also Sakai Masato) - (ahaha, just kidding, he's an a**hole but I love him anyway).
What follows is an actual ep.07-08 SPOILER:
I'm so, so happy someone decided to sub it; I've been waiting (and hanging onto the 720p raws) since it aired last year in the hopes that someone would give it a go, and I've not been disappointed!
Oh a less snarky note, it would be helpful if an article is only going to talk about one country's shows, it be noted in the title of the article. Because I'm not really interested in K-drama OSTs and I wouldn't have clicked the link had I known.