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Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-19

I don't like any of the cheap stories about teenage love, I don't like shows about food, I don't like stupid and loud comedy, I don't like fake cop dramas. I have eliminated 90% of japanese media in one foul swoop. Please help.

I just want to know some serious stuff, maybe some good anime, but something different that I have to think about. I can't watch almost any american television because i just hate it, I don't know why but when I watch a movie i just can't get captured in very well, they all seem so fabricated since most of them can't even adhere to their own stories without making mistakes, not to mention the false portrayals of human behavior. I like media where people act like real people, and if they don't that i can well understand why not. Anyways, just recommend something to me guys, i have such a hard time watching media out of sheer disinterest.

Good serious media recommendations? - EratiK - 2010-09-19

In order to be positively specific, can you be please mention examples of Japanese and American shows you like?
I'd recommend you some cyberpunk stuff, but even that can be repulsive due to style, so knowing the style you already like might be helpful to find the right content.

Good serious media recommendations? - ToasterMage - 2010-09-19

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Good serious media recommendations? - JimmySeal - 2010-09-19

Yonosa Wrote:I have eliminated 90% of japanese media in one foul swoop.
That was quite the foul swoop wasn't it?

Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-19

Umm, well I guess the only drama I have watched in the recent times would be Horatio Hornblower and I liked it a lot. I guess when I think about it I tend to like historically themed television(although I'm often upset on the shallow perspective taken). But other than that I like sci-fi and fantasy as long as it fits decently well together and doesnt break its own story's rules. I mean, I liked Lord of the Rings, and um stuff like that considerably, I also liked the first Pirates of the Caribbean. I guess just recommend me some kinds of adventure, historical, sci-fi, and fantasy. I dont tend to like dramas set in the modern times because I dont agree with their perspective.

So yeah, HISTORICAL, ADVENTURE, SCI-FI, FANTASY, DOCUMENTARY and anything quite ACADEMIC,　

Maybe some samurai or meiji era stuff. Are there any dramas set during 1900-1950? I would be interested in some post war stuff drama or something.

Good serious media recommendations? - Blahah - 2010-09-19

Yonosa Wrote:I have eliminated 90% of japanese media in one foul swoop.
The phrase is "at one fell swoop", it's from Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

You could try reading some classic Japanese literature if you want a some historical content and to avoid the mindless drivel that appears on TV. Just check out 青空文庫 for authors here...

Good serious media recommendations? - chamcham - 2010-09-19

Fumo chitai and karei naru ichizoku are two of my favorite
J-dramas. Both are very serious and are based on novels from the same author.

Good serious media recommendations? - Womacks23 - 2010-09-19

Every year the NHK produces a new historical drama. They are called taiga dramas and they have a run length 3 times longer than all the other shows.

This years show is called "Ryoma den" and is about Sakamoto Ryoma and his role in the Meiji Restoration. It's really great quility and very popular.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga_drama

Good serious media recommendations? - TheVinster - 2010-09-19

How about you watch 恋ノチカラ, it's a story about adult love. Bam, I beat your teenage love limitation.

Good serious media recommendations? - kimagure - 2010-09-19

chamcham Wrote:Fumo chitai and karei naru ichizoku are two of my favorite
J-dramas. Both are very serious and are based on novels from the same author.
Seconded - I was just about to recommed them myself.

Good serious media recommendations? - Bokusenou - 2010-09-19

I don't know about dramas, but for thought provoking anime, try Kino no Tabi(dub name:Kino's Journey. The light novels it was based on are good as well.

Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-19

At one fell swoopって,
hehe, knew it was something like that, in honesty I have little to no interest in Shakespeare, as I don't really like to read story books, plays or whatever. But thanks I will use it correctly next time.

Hey actually i have caught 2 episodes of the show about 坂本竜馬 before, they were quite ok, thanks for reminding me of them, i will go back and watch.

How about some modern era war stuff? Movies are also welcome too guys. I know there are classic movies and stuff, well ive never seen them and save 黒澤's works havent even heard of them, I would think some of them would fit my tastes?

Any documentaries? I've really neglected media way too much because of distaste and I've had so much trouble even finding the information and names of titles that might be interesting let alone trying to watch them since I've been quite preoccupied with reading practice.

Good serious media recommendations? - ahibba - 2010-09-19

chamcham Wrote:Fumo chitai....
I second that.

Good serious media recommendations? - hanear21 - 2010-09-19

Also, if you want to watch something that is intended to be educational, NHK has a variety of instructional programs. They are intended to teach academic subjects like history, science, etc. It's all way above my head language-wise, but I think the history shows would be particularly interesting if you can understand it. http://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/schedule.html

Good serious media recommendations? - Womacks23 - 2010-09-19

You might also like the anime Flag.

The movie Jin-Roh

Macross Plus

Older Gundam like 08MS

And this when it comes out
http://yamato-movie.net/movie_yokoku.html

Good serious media recommendations? - Asriel - 2010-09-19

I'm not really one to watch movies about the War era or anything, but here's some I had to watch for class

きけ、わだつみの声 (Translated as Last Friends(?) but is completely unrelated to the drama)
Trailer or something for the 1995 version:

There's also a 1955(?) version, but my professor told me it sucks.

It's based on a book by the same name which is basically just a collection of diaries and such written by students who were drafted (and died) in the war. So you're not gonna get a lot of the "BANZAAAAIII" war things, but more of the "damn, war sucks" kind of sentiment.


Also a war-related documentary: ゆきゆきて、神軍 translated as "The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_Naked_Army_Marches_On
Clip of it:

This guy, now an older man, goes around talking to those who were his superiors in the army. He tries to get them to admit to the crimes they committed after the war had ended, including executing in order to eat the natives of the island, and even some of their own soldiers iirc.
This guy got arrested for shooting at the emperor with a pachinko ball...

ハワイ・マレー沖海戦, "The Naval War from Hawaii to Malay"
I don't remember much about this one. IIRC, the special effects were so good at its time, that they actually used footage from this film to show on TV as actual war footage. This would be the "japan banzai!" film of the lot.
Wikipedia

Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-19

Any more ? How about documentaries?

Good serious media recommendations? - howtwosavealif3 - 2010-09-19

jin
watashitachi no kyoukasho

p.s. i don't think youre trying hard enough to find american movies/tv shows you like... it sounds ridiculous what you wrote.

Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-19

Yeah, it was a bit of an exaggeration, but in all honesty, I really am not a fan of story-type television generally, unless it shows something that I think is new and interesting.

Good serious media recommendations? - quincy - 2010-09-19

I have no idea what you want, but I guess I'll say Mushishi as it's quite unique and there are japanese subs available for it.

I also second Kino no Tabi, the books are quite easy to read, and the anime is a pretty direct adaptation.

Good serious media recommendations? - raeesmerelda - 2010-09-20

Yonosa Wrote:I don't like any of the cheap stories about teenage love, I don't like shows about food, I don't like stupid and loud comedy, I don't like fake cop dramas. I have eliminated 90% of japanese media in one foul swoop. Please help.
For stuff available to download (since I don't know if you can watch live TV or not):

Dramas (download maybe the first 3 to try):
Galileo :cop drama with weird shit. A physicist solves weird cases that seem supernatural. The solution is usually kind of awesome.
Kiina :cop drama with weird shit, but the investigator is female, and sort of a random, crazy genius. If you like Galileo, try this.
働きマン :woman works at a weekly magazine. Main actress is same as in Kiina. There's also an anime of it, but that was harder to find (and ended up not as good, imo).
日本人の知らない日本語 :woman teaches Japanese to foreigners. Might contain a small amount of so-called "stupid comedy;" not sure exactly what you mean by that comment (it's not the variety show kind). Now airing.

Other:
Music Station: you didn't mention Japanese music in your list of bad TV, so...this includes interviews and performances. Definitely not consistent in its availability though.
Vs Arashi: Also didn't mention game shows associated with Johnny's. Also not consistent in its accessibility.
Bi no Tsubo: I'm in the process of getting a bunch of these, so my experience with it is limited. However, it's about specific segments of Japanese arts/culture (hanko, lanterns, wedding kimono, various fabric techniques, traditional construction, etc), 30 minutes at a time. From the episode I've watched so far (about handwritten kana), the language isn't too technical, but it might turn out to be ungodly boring.

Good serious media recommendations? - EratiK - 2010-09-20

You can have fun doing serious things.

Good serious media recommendations? - Yonosa - 2010-09-20

bodhisamaya Wrote:If you are looking for something serious, you will never learn Japanese. Only those who are looking to have fun will succeed.
My my.... It just so happens that I find intellectually stimulating content entertaining and enjoyable... perhaps this is unthinkable to you or something that you would post such a response. But do not think I am going out looking for things I do not enjoy, the whole post is about how I do not enjoy most of the media because it is shallow in my opinion, and looking for alternatives that may be more to my tastes. I can already read most of the newspaper, save some trouble when reading about Government(which is ok since that is the most shallow corrupt mainstream perspective and falsifies what's going on, but I will still work to understand that completely, just a matter of a few thousand more vocabulary to push myself to 99% or so in that area.) So don't spout your ideas about fun and assume what is fun for you might be fun for everyone, in my case, quite the contrary.


In the drama Galileo do they really stick to the science? I have never found that they really care much about the science used, it's more about the "cool" factor than anything I have found.

Good serious media recommendations? - chair - 2010-09-20

um i'm pretty sure he was joking

Also you haven't really given us any specific idea of what you like besides the Lord of the Rings movies and Pirates of the Caribbean (which don't seem very "serious" to me).

Based on your first post I would suggest a film called 誰も知らない which is about a woman who abandons her children. It doesn't feel as contrived as most movies I've seen script-wise and most of the actors are children with (what I assume to be is) very little acting experience so a lot of their "acting" seems more natural than what you'd see in most movies.

I don't know though, it's set in the present day and has somewhat of a storyline so you might not like it!

Good serious media recommendations? - caivano - 2010-09-20

http://www.thegreathappinessspace.com/

is a really good documentary about hosts in Osaka. It's pretty depressing tho.