Hi, well this is a two part question. First I’m wondering what are some good JDramas for guys? Just like dramas in the US, they seem to be mostly aiming for girls, so is there any good ones guys may like? Last is there any full running TV shows that isn’t anime? All most all the JDramas seem to be only 10 episodes long.

Thanks

My Boss My Hero
Only watched about 3 episodes so far, but it's hilarious. 27 year old son of a yakuza boss has to go back and graduate high school in order to take over the family business. So he goes to high school and has a bunch of misadventures.

Proposal Daisakusen
For guys or girls? It's technically a love story, being told from the guy's perspective, going back in time to see if he can change things that he regrets. I liked it, and I'm a guy.

I'll probably come back with more that I liked, but I gotta get to class, so:

Isn't a typical anime series 26 episodes roughly 20 minutes each? Dramas would be 11 episodes roughly 40 minutes each. So really, in terms of minutes, it's not actually that much shorter...Unless you're talking like Inuyasha, Naruto, and Pokemon...in that case, I would suggest better things, but whatever.

There are tons of JDramas for guys. Just go search on dramawiki or something for some plots and see what you like. A good place to start is GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) or Tiger & Dragon or Liar's Game.

As for the latter part of the question... not really. First you have to realize when people say "dramas" they mean just normal shows, like we have in America. "Lost," "Fringe," "24," etc are all dramas. The only thing is, these shows run differently in Japan, which has far less funding than Hollywood. Some shows have more than one season, but not many. And those seasons will probably only be another 10-12 episodes as well.

Asriel Wrote:Pokemon.... in that case, I would suggest better things, but whatever.

Hey now, don't diss Pokemon! Where did you think I clocked in all my beginner listening hours? No show was able to make me feel better than pokemon when I was a beginner. I was able to sit back and enjoy, even when my vocabulary was pretty small.

Bloody Monday
Fumo Chitai (if you're into intense political dramas)

Ryuujin27 Wrote:Hey now, don't diss Pokemon!

I'm not dissing pokemon, per se. I enjoy it, and I leave it on when I'm eating breakfast in the morning, etc...
I'm just saying that shows that have hundreds of episodes just king of...aren't necessarily that good. You end up with Power Ranger tier 'monsters of the day,' etc...Like in Sailor Moon as well. Heck, Dragonball Z, while they didn't have a MOTD, they just carried out individual battles for way too long.
Something just tells me that if a series has too many episodes, then it's a good idea to stay away from it.

It's tricky to recommend jdramas 'for guys' - there are different demographics and genres, so it really depends on the individual. Having said that, I watch a ton of the stuff (I'm not an anime fan; dramas and variety shows are the only Japanese TV I watch), so maybe I can add a few options that are not obviously skewed toward a female audience:

Gokusen: Yakuza heiress follows her dream and becomes a maths/homeroom teacher to Shirokin Gakuen's class 3-D - students on the verge of failing or getting expelled for disciplinary problems. Imagine Dangerous Minds converted into a comedy. I only like Season 1 (everything after that felt like a rehash), but there's also Season 2, Season 3 and a movie, which gives you thirty-something episodes to play with.

Maou: Remake of a kdrama. Seemingly kind-hearted lawyer secretly plots revenge against his brother's killers; detective with a dark past investigates a a mysterious series of murders.

Ryusei no Kizuna: Three siblings make a pact to avenge their parents' murder. Somehow manages to be both dramatic and comedic by turns.

ROOKIES: Baseball-centric drama of the hopeless-sports-team-pulls-together-under-a-new-coach's-guidance style. As an Aussie (and hence raised on cricket rather than baseball) I found it a bit dull, but US jdrama viewers seem to like it...?

The Quiz Show 2: Contestants are invited onto a 10-question quiz show modelled on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Eight correct answers and they get a wish granted by the TV network, ten correct and they win 10 million yen. The catch: the contestants' lives have been researched in advance, and questions eventually delve into past crimes, which they have to admit to in order to win. There's also a side story regarding the relationship (er, not romantic) between mysterious host and the director. I've never seen the original, but Season 2 was engaging.

Bambino!: Novice chef from Fukuoka with an ego problem gets a traineeship in a top Italian restaurant in Tokyo, realises he's not as good as he thought he was, gets smacked down a lot, learns how to become a real chef. I ended up having to watch this drama after dinner, otherwise I found myself compelled to head for the fridge within fifteen minutes : /

Also agree on previous recs for Liar Game, My Boss My Hero and Bloody Monday. LG has two seasons and a movie, BM has two seasons, so 20+ eps to work with.

I could probably come up with a dozen more if I had my back catalogue in front of me, but I'm not home at the moment... Hopefully this will give you a few shows to work with, though

Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Akihabara@DEEP

Both awesome shows, fighting crime/solving mysteries, and pretty funny.

I had this thread bookmarked, might be helpful.
http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=2925

Though, I would personally recommend Kekkon Dekinai Otoko and Trick. Hiroshi Abe is definitely my new favorite actor, because he's so hilarious.

If we're talking about this season's dramas then how about Hammer Session (similar to Dragonzakura, GTO, Gokusen etc.) and Unubore Deka (very funny and all main actors are men anyways)??
Orthros no Inu was pretty cool, too!

Definitely for men are also: Pride, Kurosagi, Long Love Letter, Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger & Dragon, Liar Game (Season 1 and 2), Sushi Oji, Hero, Engine, Yasha, Voice, Stand Up!, Mr. Brain, Majo Saiban, Tokyo Dogs .....

And I second Maou, Bloody Monday (but season 2 was kind of lame), Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Akihabara@Deep.

Here's a list of all jdramas I've watched so far (well, I need to update it, though), there are almost 100 jdramas. I marked the ones I'd recommend, but that's from a female's point of view (^-^'') ....

chochajin Wrote:Orthros no Inu was pretty cool, too!

For like the first 10 minutes.

Tokyo Dogs was cool, though.

imo Japan does comedy/romance (girly?) dramas way better than thriller/action (guy?) dramas so I would try to embrace the cheesy stuff.

good action dramas:
GTO
Buzzer Beat (does that count?)

ermmmm that's about it

good cheesy dramas:
Orange Days
Dragon Zakura
Gokusen 1
Last Friends
Summer Snow
Nodame Contabile
etc
etc

I balance this out with Lost / Dexter etc Japanese dub

Ryuujin27 Wrote:

Asriel Wrote:Pokemon.... in that case, I would suggest better things, but whatever.

Hey now, don't diss Pokemon! Where did you think I clocked in all my beginner listening hours? No show was able to make me feel better than pokemon when I was a beginner. I was able to sit back and enjoy, even when my vocabulary was pretty small.

I never find pokémon! I want so bad to watch it, but where? Thanks in advance, great inspirational post btw, at least for me.

Thank you for the list chochajin. And since IceCeam is here too: thank you for the drama threads you made. I watched "My girl" because you rated it for beginners and it was perfect, at least for the language. As a TV show it was OK, I guess I'm just not a huge fan of Japanese drama but it's really a good way to practice listening comprehension, so it's nice to have some rankings and descriptions.

IceCream Wrote:wow, cool site chochajin!!! i love it!!!

hahah caivano, i don't think buzzer beat really counts as action. and it's definatley supposed to be for girls...

ones i haven't seen mentioned yet are Trouble Man from last season, and Manhatten Love Story. Manhatten Love Story isn't as boyish as some of the other recommendations, but it's really funny, and made by the same guy who did Tiger & Dragon, Kisarazu Cats Eye, Ikebukuro Westgate Park, etc. (All of these you should definately watch!). And yeah, Liar Game, Tokyo Dogs, Stand Up!

Ah I was trying to remember the name of Manhattan Love Story! +1 for that. Will have to check out those other ones.

If you'd like something from this season you might like Unubore Deka. It's hilarious and not hard to understand. I also like GOLD and Tobo Bengoshi. The level is around intermediate, I guess.

Ghoro Wrote:First I’m wondering what are some good JDramas for guys? Just like dramas in the US, they seem to be mostly aiming for girls, so is there any good ones guys may like? Last is there any full running TV shows that isn’t anime? All most all the JDramas seem to be only 10 episodes long.

Thanks

NHK have a drama which is shown everyday except Sundays. It's only 15 minutes each day but it runs for a long time. The last one I watched (ウェルかメ) ran for around 120 episodes and seemed to be "aimed at girls". I suppose the target audience are housewives.The current one is really entertaining. It's called げげげの女房. It's about the manga writer 水木しげる told from the point of view of his wife. It's getting close to episode 100 so it's probably over 3/4 of the way through though.

I enjoy them because they're in short 15 minute servings each day and if you don't like one drama, there's always the next one. They're not big budget but are well made and about ordinary folk. You also get a chance to hear regional accents. ウェルかメ was set in Shikoku and げげげの女房 began with Matsue dialect before shifting to Tokyo.

If you're not in Japan, you might be able to get NHK via satellite. I know it was possible in the UK.

How about JIN. Medical Time travel dorama - yes there are men crying in it - but I really enjoyed it.

TaylorSan Wrote:How about JIN. Medical Time travel dorama - yes there are men crying in it - but I really enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed JIN. It's a neat twist (but not too crazy/anime-like) on the taiga drama genre.

I wouldn't mind an American/Western Drama, except in Japanese. Imagine House or Breaking Bad or something like that, but in Japanese. That'd be cool.

CarolinaCG Wrote:

Ryuujin27 Wrote:

Asriel Wrote:Pokemon.... in that case, I would suggest better things, but whatever.

Hey now, don't diss Pokemon! Where did you think I clocked in all my beginner listening hours? No show was able to make me feel better than pokemon when I was a beginner. I was able to sit back and enjoy, even when my vocabulary was pretty small.

I never find pokémon! I want so bad to watch it, but where? Thanks in advance, great inspirational post btw, at least for me.

I agree, where's the Pokemon?
*UPDATE*: The Pirate Bay has quite a lot of Japanese Pokemon (a lot of it is English subbed though, I'm not sure if it's hard or soft yet.)

I've been watching Tokujo Kabachi recently, which is a pretty interesting law drama.

kazelee Wrote:

chochajin Wrote:Orthros no Inu was pretty cool, too!

For like the first 10 minutes.

Really?? And I watched it although I don't like one of the main actors! XD

IceCream Wrote:wow, cool site chochajin!!! i love it!!!

Thank you (^o^)

Quote:Trouble Man from last season

Yes!!! I was really surprised. This drama was getting better with each episode!

Tiger and Dragon
IWGP

These are a great place to start.

This is a bit late :-P But thanks a lot every one, this is a great list.

Some other people said it here before, but is there any American shows with Japanese dubs and if so where are some places I can get them? That would be really great, I can only do so many JDramas lol

Again Thanks

chochajin Wrote:

kazelee Wrote:

chochajin Wrote:Orthros no Inu was pretty cool, too!

For like the first 10 minutes.

Really?? And I watched it although I don't like one of the main actors! XD

The bad acting of the guy playing the main character and the fat deranged police officer killed it for me. The only reason I stuck through till the end was because of 水川's pretty face. She aint got no booty though.