kittyflumpin

I love seeing more J-drama content! So often it seems this is a K-drama site... Anyway, I'm off to look into those other dramas mentioned above!

I think a huge part of the appeal in dramas like this (to me at least) is that they feature characters and places that seem more real than the average popular drama. These folks live in the same unglamorous, worn-out world as the rest of us and face many of the same concerns and I definitely appreciate that viewpoint being presented to us, even as we're inundated with wish-fulfillment type shows (think unrealistically posh sets, "poor characters" still dressed stylishly with the latest phone, etc. ... K-dramas, I'm lookin' at you specifically).

I haven't seen the others (yet) but Foreign Duck, Native Duck, and God in a Coinlocker is fantastic! I remember sitting back afterwards and just thinking, "...Wow." It's been quite a few years since I've seen it so perhaps I'm due for a rewatch.

I did end up watching ep.03 (and 04) and commented (above).

Okay. I wasn't going to, but I did watch ep.03 (and then 04) of this and yes, as many have commented, it did help a lot. It didn't make me *like* Takane, but it put him somewhat less in the negative (which is really not how I should be feeling about the male lead after 3 entire eps, btw-- "well I don't hate him as much" doesn't exactly inspire great romance). I feel that the things Junko said in ep.03 (so satisfying, honestly) really, REALLY should've been said and dealt with *immediately* in ep.01. Like, shut that sh*t right down, no Ifs Ands or Buts.

As for ep.04, to my genuine surprise, I liked a lot of it. I even laughed a few times! Which just made me think how this should've happened so much earlier, especially in what's supposedly a rom-com. I just want to go back and somehow rewrite the beginning, condensing ep.01-03 into the first half of ep.01 and get all that ugliness put in check. So... I'll keep watching for now, but there's no way I could recommend this to anyone without a page's worth of caveats.

My first Asian drama ever was the J-drama Antique (anyone? anyone? *crickets* Yeah, I thought so). I'd heard it was based on a BL (Boys' Love) manga* so I had to check it out. I liked it a lot at the time (you gotta admit, the cast is fantastic) but I'm not sure it would hold up to a rewatch for me. Especially since in the 10+ years between then and now, the source manga Antique Bakery (by Fumi Yoshinaga, who has since become one of my favorite manga-ka for both her BL and non-BL works) has been released in English. Turns out the drama changed some major, MAJOR elements, such that I don't understand why they wanted to adapt it in the first place except that it had won some awards and it was as good an excuse as any to get that cast into some snazzy pâtissier/waitstaff uniforms & slingin' some delicious-looking desserts. Happily the K-movie adaptation that came out years later did more justice to the story, so at least there's that.

Well whatever the rewatch value may or may not be, as a full-on anime fan at the time I was so entertained and intrigued by this new medium that I quickly went on watch other popular shows of the day (think Gokusen, Kimi wa Petto, the Trick series) and dipped my toes into the K-drama pool as well (Full House, My Name Is Kim Sam Soon). This was before torrenting (let alone streaming) existed, so episodes had to be ever-so-slowly individually downloaded from online storage sites that no longer exist (it would take hours to download a single ep, and god forbid someone should come along & close or redirect your browser because there went your download and you'd have to start all over again. Ah the good old days...).

*It should be noted that Antique Bakery, while it has a gay character, is not a BL manga, though the manga-ka has in fact done many (excellent) BL manga.

I wouldn't say it's prevalent in a lot of dramas *I've* watched, especially not to this degree, and when it occurs it doesn't seem to be hand-waved away so casually. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of behavior in dramas that I would never tolerate in real life, but something about the calculated, matter-of-fact way he tries to control & isolate her; that her reaction is more mild inconvenience than rage/fear; and that all this is being treated as light romantic comedy... I just can't suspend my disbelief hard enough to enjoy this. I don't see any reason for these people to like one another in the first place *without* the abusive behavior, so it'd take a hell of a plot twist to make me believe they'd fall in love *despite* of it. And quite honestly I'd rather not potentially waste anymore time trying to find out if they can pull it off. I'm already watching a lot of shows I don't have to struggle to enjoy, so I think I will just wait for Yamapi's next drama and hope for something better (shouldn't be hard, imo).

Ep.2 is even worse... he flat out *tells* her he wants her to fail, which I thought was the worst the show could offer... but then he basically f**ks her over in her job aspirations and I was 100% done with this drama.

All the scrambling to find subs, and I ended up dropping this show like a hot rock. I almost didn't finish the 2nd ep, I was so pissed. This is textbook-case abusive behavior, and seeing it presented as romance is revolting. I hope Pi (or whoever manages him) picks a better script next time because imo this story is awful.

Also the subs & video have to be located in the same folder.

If I might direct you all to jdramacity ( http://www.jdramacity.blogspot.com ), if you click on the From 5 to 9 tile you'll see a link for subs other than Torachan's. I haven't seen them myself but might be worth checking out (and don't forget to drop the subber a note of thanks).

(P.S. Checking the jdramacity page for a show, even if you're not using their torrents, is one way to find English sub sources.)

This is definitely contrary to this particular fansubber's wishes. If you read her rules, you actually don't need an active LJ if you link to where you *are* active (like here, or d-addicts, or maybe a personal drama blog elsewhere, for example). Also it might just cause her to drop the project completely and remove whatever subs she's already completed. Just so you know...

Yes, a week is nothing. I mean, it's nice if someone decides to take it upon themselves to try to keep up week-to-week, but fansubbing J-dramas is a lot of unpaid volunteer work (unlike K-dramas, whose [legal] streaming sites can pay for subbing hence their faster turnaround). It's normal to wait a week or 2 (or more).

Torachan (http://doramatique.livejournal.com ) is taking on subbing, but they're going on holiday for a few weeks so if you're not already a member of the community you'll have to wait 'til they return to open membership back up again.

If anyone's still looking for subs, there are some English subs available at AvistaZ now. I haven't watched this yet myself, but my understanding is they are from the Malaysian release and are quite good. *crosses fingers*

I think I will give Mr. Hong (a.k.a. Mr. Handy) a look. Thanks for the recommendations!

Amen! Why do so many people think that being a fan of something (whether it be a particular piece of work or a medium as a whole) means you can never have any criticisms of it?

I loved Stand Up! But to be honest, I don't usually think of it as a "school" drama since it takes place over the summer.

Okay, here's the part of the comment section where I flat-out start whining: WHY ISN'T ANYONE FANSUBBING THIS?!?

I have no delusions about how much work it takes to fansub something (the answer is A LOT), I'm just quite surprised that a drama starring someone whom I assumed to be such a popular actress (am I wrong?) would be so overlooked. *cries*

Ahh well, here's hoping that years from now some fan finds this unsubbed gem (? - judging from comments here) and decides to throw us a bone.

I love Nobuta wo Produce! On the surface it sounds like a lame makeover story but it's really not so much about a superficial makeover (as "produced" by the boys) as it is the natural blossoming of friendship and the inevitable changes that occur in both parties in that situation. In fact, it could be argued that as much as Shuji & Akira change Nobuta, by the end she has changed them (Shuji especially) just as much if not more.

Also love GTO ( and Sorimachi Takashi ❤️).

As for Hana Kimi, I've not seen the Taiwanese version but the J-drama is crack-tastic (though tbh the romantic plot doesn't do it for me, because Nakatsu > stone-faced Sano anyday).