You're definitely not the only one, search the serious media recommendations form to see my feelings on 95%+ of dramas, american, japanese or otherwise, I also can't stand it.

Count me in as a hater of sappy Asian dramas shot on video. ugggg 電車男 sucks soooooooooo much.

The only ones I can stand watching are written by Kudo Kankuro... Especially Tiger and Dragon and Kisarazu Cat's Eye (both dramedies), and Unubore Deka (straight up comedy - hilarious).

Well I'll take the cheesiness of Japanese dramas over the canned laughtracks of American sitcoms any day. Why anybody thinks it's a good idea is beyond me and I'm glad that trend is on its way out.

I can only agree with you on 電車男. I tried to watch it 5 different times. Longest I ever lasted was episode 6, when I just sat down and said I am going to marathon it. Couldn't do it though. GTO, however, is still one of my favorites.

Do you think the character of Onizuka is over the top? Or why don't you like it?

Other dramas I'd recommend:

Well, actually I think most of the ones I like you would consider fake. Anything with Abe Hiroshi is probably going to be really good, though. I saw Dragon Zakura mentioned, but also try At Home Dad.

I like Japanese drama but couldn't name one that has believable acting. You just gotta embrace the cheesiness. Summer Snow is actually one of the better ones I think...

You can always watch dubbed US dramas.

actually, you could try 空から降る一億の星 (One Million Stars Falling from the Sky), that's good in a non cheesy way.

Yeah I've never been a big fan of j-drama's either. Put simply, the lack of production value and generally cheezy plots and 2-d characters are just too distracting for me.

I did make it through some dramas and enjoyed them some but that doesn't mean I wasn't wincing through most of it. GTO and Densha Otoko were pretty cheezy but I found amusing. Hana yori Dango wasn't bad, high school dramas are pretty 2-dimensional anyways so I found myself enjoying it more.

Anyways, I'm sure there are a couple of gems out there, hopefully you'll come across them.

jorrebenst Wrote:I just don't get it.
I tried.
Case study 1: 電車男. Supposedly good. Won prizes. I
More drama that sucks (IMO): GTO, ごくせん, My girl, ...

No, It's not just you. This kind of flouncy, 'it's ok for men to cry,' one feeble woman can take on 20 'thugs'; basically uncool and far too far fetched drama sets my teeth on edge too. I can't stand most of the standard recommendations for manga and Jpop either for what it's worth, so I can sympathise.

Some different recommendations for films/drama:


# Crows Zero : best film out of Japan in the last few years. pure grit and good fun violence. From a manga. Highly recommended.. The sequel is so-so

# Detroit Metal City : some fool ends up fronting a brutal Death Metal band! The story is comedy gold. There's a manga and an amime series. Highly recommended.

# Guilty : pretty good so far, some flounce, but pretty good storyline and twists.

# Saru Lock : comedy gold! Best ever! Also in a manga. Highly, Highly Recommended.

# Liar Game (the drama) : good, interesting idea and good plot twists. Recommended

# Tokyo Dogs : another interesting crime drama. recommended

# IWGP - Ikebukero West Gate Park : Old but good. just don't watch the Special Episode.

# Mr. Brain : Pop-Pyschology crime drama. good twists and interesting. higher budget than the usual pith.

# Skyhigh : interesting concept. from a manga which is also good.

# Tokyo Tribes2 : from a manga again (this is an anime) about gangs in Tokyo, pretty ok, but better than watching the usual anime shite.

# Golgo 13 : subtitled as 'The God of snipers' you know how that's going down! it a good Japanese Jason Bourne/James Bond style anime/manga about an assassin.

# FLCL : An anime series... this is the odd one out on this list. It's pretty much worth watching for the experience though

Some good films:
# Ichi the killer - brutal
# Lalapipo - strange but ok
# Samurai Fiction - recommended
# Tokyo Zombies _ just WTF?! but enjoyable
# Violent Cop - nice
# Wasabi - actually in French, but a highly recommended caper
# Sharkskin man and peach hip girl - awesome
# Survive Style 5 - pure win

Good luck!

I personally love jdrama, even though I'm not too fond of sappy stories.

I'd recommend you Maou. It's a revenge story - a remake from a korean drama series. Might be interesting for jettyke too, seeing as the policemen and lawyers in here aren't pictured as being super-nice

Apart from that I second Trick, Tokyo Dogs and anything starring Abe Hiroshi!

One realistic drama: Beautiful life. I recommend to watch until the end of the first episode at least, because from there on the plot gets very enticing.

It's very good, I'm watching it right now.

I agree with you with the low production value but... um let me just tell you that Japan has some great talk/variety shows that are hilarious so I hope you get over the "I swear I've yet to encounter anything from Japanese TV that has actually made me laugh, but that might be a cultural barrier." soon. Because I got over this a long time ago from browsing youtube everyday and find awesome shows (that i never knew existed before) which then i proceeded to watch more of on other sitese/YT or DL. I honestly tried to find stuff I like and i ended up finding it and now I barely have enough to watch all of it.

2 ame talk eps I love to death~~
Japanese talk/variety shows have their own thing. lately most of the comedy/laughs i get out of tv is from japanese shows than american shows (but one reason is i mostly watch japanese tv)
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTU2MzY0MjQ4.html
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY5ODkzNDMy.html

but you know i did find dramas i liked as i said on the previous page. i see some people are recommending mr. brain or something but I can't watch it because the level is too low since I watch BONES (the american show) since season 3.... Oh and this is what the Japanese viewers think too, the ones that don't like this particular drama either. It's just a mutual understanding

If it makes you feel better, Densha Otoko was one of the most boring, frustrating ドラマs I've ever seen. It had a few good moments, due in no part to the main characters.
I disagree about GTO however, I thought it was a classic, quirky Japanese comedy.
I'm completely sick of high school dramas, but I think GTO and Gokusen are better than most.

Japanese dramas aren't renowned for their realism; if that's what you want, stick to cinema like you said. Ozu and Kurosawa films are all over the internet, how about a few of them?

BTW, did anyone see the GTO film? That has to be one of the worst films I've ever seen.

mistamark Wrote:# Crows Zero : best film out of Japan in the last few years. pure grit and good fun violence. From a manga. Highly recommended.. The sequel is so-so

LOL, really?

I saw this movie in theaters when I was studying abroad in Japan, and the only thing I found interesting was how bad the movie was.

Personally I was never able to stand ドラマ at all until recently... But now I'm on episode 3/4 of 刑事の現場 and I'm really enjoying it. Since it's a cop show there's no glaringly two-dimensional romantic subplots to cope with, and it tackles relatively serious questions/themes (immigration, police negligence, the erosion of the nuclear family) in a more nuanced way than I'm used to from Japanese media/TV.

There's still a little bit of melodrama here and there, and it's more of a personality/social issue focused show than a mystery show, but I'd highly recommend it.

Yeah I didn't like Densha Otoko either, got about 6 episodes in, but his constant whining eventually got to me. Only drama I've given up halfway through I think.
Currently watching 大切なことはすべて君が教えててくれた quite enjoying it so far.

Gingerninja Wrote:Yeah I didn't like Densha Otoko either, got about 6 episodes in, but his constant whining eventually got to me. Only drama I've given up halfway through I think

By the end, I was hoping the antagonist would win the girl.

i find this thread amusing, because from where i stand (not american, but lived in north america for > 20 years now), US television is for the most part utter claptrap -- realistic? in whose world? not mine. comedy is the worst; i can't watch 99% of it. drama is somewhat better, and overall i feel the quality has improved over the years (or maybe i have just been desensitized, *wry grin*).

so, japanese TV doesn't really feel any worse to me; the comedy is for the most part wasted on me, while the drama comes off a bit better. there are some japanese mannerisms that rub me the wrong way (frex when young women act super-cute and dumb), but that's a personal thing and doesn't really reflect on the quality of jdrama, since, well, that's actually not unrealistic at all for japan.

i don't watch a whole lot, but the last one standing out most in my mind right now is 野ブタ。をプロデュース (nobuta wo produce). it is an offbeat school drama with an unexpected ending, and what would i know about the realism of japanese high schools, being as all my info comes from manga and anime -- just that it FEELS genuine to me, thoughtful, and touching. i pushed it on all my close friends because it is such a paean to friendship, and they all liked it too (which says something, since they're not as interested in japan as i am, and one of us are even close to the target audience).

about the only comedy i could stand in recent years was ブスの瞳に恋してる (busu no hitomi ni koi shiteru, also known as busukoi). it is plenty "fake", but it too has its insightful moments, and genuine characters, especially the "ugly girl" played by murakami tomoko.

somebody mentioned 殺し屋１(koroshiya ichi) -- is that based on the manga with the same name? if it is i don't think i'll watch it, because man, the manga and OVA gave me nightmares.

wccrawford Wrote:Watch the first 3 eps of Dragon Zakura. It's the least cheezy show I can think of. It's kind of like House MD, but he's a teacher and not so nasty. In other words, he's extremely competent and self-assure. He has a plan and doesn't screw around with it, even though everyone thinks he is.

I'm two episodes into Dragonzakura. How can you think this is anything but cheesy? Did you not see the scene in the gym with the basketball?

Not to mention that apart from the main character, who is quite cool, there's only one other character that I'm finding even tolerable. =\

Sure, it's not any worse than your average Western broadcast drama, but is there no Japanese equivalent to say, an HBO miniseries?

Recently I've started watching フリーター、家を買う　http://www.dramacrazy.net/japanese-drama...-ie-o-kau/　、which seems alot less cheesy than the average drama. I find it quite hard to understand though.