Aoi Tori [青い鳥] Rating: 10/10 (Watched) I wish I could actually find this drama to buy. This is one of my favorites. I found the two girls in this drama to be quite charming. Etsushi Toyokawa plays his role to perfection. Not like conventional dramas.
Boku dake no Madonna [僕だけのマドンナ] Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched) Pretty good drama. Not spectacular, but I think it was worth watching and I had a good time. Probably won't watch it again anytime soon tho.
Dekichatta Kekkon [できちゃった結婚] Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched) Love HR!!! Every minute was great. I actually couldn't even recognize Yutaka as the main guy with his beard and all.
Dr. Koto Shinryojo [Dr.コトー診療所] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Nice drama. Would like to watch it again later. I saw it on the INternational Channel.
Golden Bowl [ゴールデンボウル] Rating: 6/10 (Bought & Watched) This drama was ok. I admit, I watched it mostly for the lady actress...I can't remember her name right now.
Good Luck !! [グッドラック!!] Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched) I loved this drama from beginning to end.
Home & Away [ホーム&アウェイ] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) I only watch half of the drama and it was scattered. This was cus I kept missing it on tv. Pretty good tho.
Hoshi no kinka 1 [星の金貨] Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched) Loved Noriko Sakai's acting....great chemistry with everyone.
Koibito yo [恋人よ] Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched) Very nice storyline, a lot of heartfelt moments. Suzuki Honami made the best facial expressions I had ever seen. You can't beat her smile.
Kono yo no hate [この世の果て] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) Love/hate relationship with this one. It was alright...not a big fan of dark dramas.
Long vacation [ロングバケーション] Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched) I enjoyed this drama but it didn't seem all that special to me. There were only a few scenes that I really liked. Overrated.
Love Story Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched) I liked it....thats pretty much all I can say.
Moto Kare [元カレ] Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched) I'm a sucker for Hirosue Ryoko.....but still this drama was great. Very emjoyable from end to end. Watch it.
Mukodono! [ムコ殿/女婿大人] Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched) I felt very good watching this drama. Never came across a story like quite like this one.
Musashi [武蔵] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) It was okay....not a big fan of Yonekura Ryoko.
Omiai kekkon [お見合い結婚] (Bought) Light hearted story with the supporting characters playing a major role. Worth taking a look at.
Otousan [おとうさん] Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched) Very much Oyaji......VERY much alike. All the great actors made it good too.
Oyaji~ [オヤジぃ] Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched) Love HR!!! Very good indeed. Great acting all around in this one. Mizuno Miki has a very nice emtional scene at the school.
Trick [トリック] Rating: 9/10 (Watched) Pretty funny and good.
Virgin Road [バージンロード] Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched) This drama was pretty good. It took them a while to get to the part I wanted though. I wouldn't mind being "Kaoru" in this situation.
Yamato Nadeshiko [やまとなでしこ【大和撫子】] Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched) Not the best but good. My initial thought= "that gold-diggin b****". Best part is with the father.
Aoi Tori [青い鳥] Unforgettable [Rating: 10/10] This is VERY good. It doesn't follow convention drama plots or settings either. I don't think this drama is very dark at all actually. I'm at a loss of words for this drama. The theme of the caged bird carries throughout the story as a previous review mentions and is actually inspiring in a way.
Beautiful life [ビューティフルライフ] Pretty Good [Rating: 7/10] Overall it was good but didn't seem spectacular. Most dramas that I really like are the ones that make the sappy feeling of the drama stay with me days after I finish it, but this one just didn' affect me that way. All I was thinking was 'okay, so that was pretty good...I guess I can see why people like it...let's move on to the next drama'. It just didn't bring out much feeling in me.
Dekichatta Kekkon [できちゃった結婚] Watch this!!! [Rating: 10/10] I loved every part of this drama. I admit that I am a big fan of Hirosue Ryoko and bought the vcd because of her so I am happy that it was worth the money. Very touching interactions between Chiyo and Ryunosuke, and each of them with the father as well. The rest of the cast did okay too, with their little side stories and advice giving. Ryoko with dyed hair DOES make her seem somewhat younger doesn't it?
GTO [麻辣教師] Now I know why its so popular! [Rating: 10/10] I am new to Japanese and just started watching dramas. I saw this drama because my friend recommended it and all the reviews I could find on the web said it was good. So I saw it and WOW...this drama is great. Very touching and I love the character of Onizuka. The way he helps all the students are great...I especially loved the way he helped the last student(very touching)! Watch it, buy it...it wont disappoint.
Hatachi no kekkon [20歳の結婚] Sam thing every episode [Rating: 2/10] Im a newcomer to Japanese dramas but even I know when something is bad as this, and Ive only seen 5 episodes. I dont have any special fondness towards any of the actors so I dont really have a bias towards them. The drama is loud with yelling in every episode (mostly by Yuka) and it happens more than once in a single show. I think maybe they try to make yelling their trademark. The only actor I kinda like is the main male character that Yuka likes(maybe because he doesnt yell...lol).
Hitotsu yane no shita 1 [ひとつ屋根の下 1] One of the best dramas I've ever seen. [Rating: 10/10] The title says it all. I was hoping they wouldn't make the "kyoudai" interactions and relationship seem very fake and cliched and they didn't. Very heartwarming and tear jerking. You'll laugh sometimes too. Every sibling performed great and would watch it multiple times. P.S. I think #2 is just as good. You root for Koyuki to be with Tatsuya (Anichan). Don't rent it, just go buy it.
Hitotsu yane no shita Season 2 [ひとつ屋根の下 2] One of the best. [Rating: 10/10] A must see if you saw the first series but then again you would already know that...lol. Not so much of "Masaya" in this one but he performs very well in the end. Nice touch with Miki but not so sure about the Masumi guy. The ending is very very unexpected as the above review says. You'll cry with emotion. P.S.-I think the opposite result for the ending would have been better though, or at least develop the original more. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Also, I was left confused with the gangster guy(not the brother) and his attitude.
Hoshi no kinka 1 [星の金貨] Go see it! [Rating: 10/10] Truthfully, I was skeptical about this drama because it was the first one I'd seen with a speech/hearing impaired character (Aya). I gave it a try due to the interesting plot and Noriko Sakai. Surprisingly, I instantly fell in love with it and felt drawn to keep watching it. Great acting all around...it seemed like everything meshed together.
Hoshi no kinka Season 2 / Zoku hoshi no kinka [續。星の金貨] Not what I expected [Rating: 6/10] I just didn't think the story was believable enough. Sure the acting was good but the story wasn't. Too many unrealistic things happening. The only reason why I kept watching till the end was to put closure to the story. I was so disappointed after watching this since I gave the original series 10 stars. I think they tried too hard to live up the first drama.
Kamisama mou sukoshi dake [神様、もう少しだけ] Now I know why people like it! [Rating: 10/10] Watch it. Very good story line and ending was great even though you know what the ultimate result will be. Note: I wanted to literally slap the reporter and Masaki's brother(his youngest version).
Kimi to ita mirai no tame ni ~ airu bi bakku [?N???] very good, but soundtrack sucks [Rating: 8/10] I found this drama to be very different from the others and that's what I liked about it. The situations with the Dohmoto Tsuyoshi and the 3 other girls are very interesting. It even has a villain. The only thing I didn't like (actually hated) was the soundtrack. If you watch this drama you'll soon find out about this one "tune" sung by a woman that'll drive you crazy. I would have given it a 9 if the songs were better.
Koi ga shitai Koi ga shitai Koi ga shitai [恋がしたい恋がしたい] pretty good [Rating: 7/10] This is the first drama I've watched so I don't have much other dramas to base my rating on yet besides GTO. It was a good story and I loved the ending. I became an instant fan of Kanno Miho. The parts I didn't really like were the story between the high school guy and the married woman. It was kinda slow at some points but still overall good.
Kono yo no hate [この世の果て] good! [Rating: 9/10] I wonder why nobody has reviewed this drama before since it receives praise usually. Due to its dark nature people may be deterred from watching it but I enjoyed it. The last couple of episodes are very good.
Love generation [ラブジェネレーション] Loved every minute of it! [Rating: 10/10] Unlike some other dramas that have some slow, dragging parts, this one was enjoyable throughout. From the start I knew it was going to be a good one. Chemistry was great. I can tell I'll watch this again and again.
Omiai kekkon [お見合い結婚] Enjoyable [Rating: 7/10] I think this was pretty good. Not the best but still fun to watch. Some scenes involving the friends I didn't really care about though. If you are a fan of Matsu Takako then you should give it a try.
Oyaji~ [オヤジぃ] enjoyable [Rating: 8/10] I found this drama to be very pleasant to watch. Its not the most emotionally evoking drama but there are some points that make you teary-eyed. Its nice to see how each of the family members mature and progress. Also, you'll see how stubborn and outspoken the father is in many situations. Recommended.
Seija no koushin [聖者の行進] Definitely a dark drama, hard to swallow!!! [Rating: 6/10] First of all, when I watched this I just concentrated on the drama itself and not on the issue of whether or not the portrayal of mentally handicapped people was correct. That has no weight in my opinion of the drama whatsoever.
Let me say that I consider this to be darker than "Kono Yo No Hate"(End of the World). That said, this drama may not be for the average drama fan. I watched it because I am a huge fan of both Hirosue Ryoko and Noriko Sakai but what I got was totally unexpected. BTW, don't anticipate a lot of extensive acting from Sakai since she's more of a supporting actor here.
I didn't know whether to like or hate this drama. Some scenes early on made me want to stop watching it, while many of them made me cringe. There were some heartfelt/teary-eyed moments that did encourage me to keep watching and made me thankful to have gone that far to see it.
The character of "Towa" is the best thing of the whole drama. I did feel satisfied at the end during the credits but the ending isn't the only thing that matters.
You'll just have to see for yourself!
Summer snow get the tissue box ready [Rating: 10/10] This drama was excellent. I am new to Japanese dramas but I already know this is going to be hard to beat. It has a great love story and deals with some life lessons. I like how Natsuo is so father-like but yet can show emotion. I loved Ryoko's acting and will watch some of her other dramas now! Must see!!! Very touching. WARNING: DONT READ THE REVIEW ABOVE MINE, IT IS A SPOILER! But if you already have, don't be discouraged because the story is great anyway.
Tokyo Love Story [東京ラブストーリー] Rika is wonderful! [Rating: 10/10] The story was great and it kept tugging at your emotions. Suzuki Honami played her character the best. You could feel all of the emotions she tried to suppress and hide, eventually bursting out at times. I was stunned to see her play this role since she was so different in Kono Yo No Hate (I saw that one first).
Yamato Nadeshiko [やまとなでしこ【大和撫子】] Pretty good [Rating: 8/10] In the beginning, I didn't really care for the drama much. Thankfully, the momentum picked up more and more towards the end. There were some parts that made me teary-eyed but not that many. I would still recommend this one.