 10 no Himitsu [10の秘密]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty good cast, bogged down by a way over complicated plot. | 101 Kaime no Puropozu [101回目のプロポーズ]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Probably my favorite romantic drama after Long Vacation. Takeda's Tatsuro was a character we can all relate to, Asano was great, and an excellent supporting cast. Highly recommended!! | 14 sai no Haha [１４歳の母]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I thought this would be the "pregnant teenager" cliche, but this was much better than expected. Shida, Tanaka, and Namase were all very good. |
29-sai no Kurisumasu [29歳のクリスマス]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
An average drama with an outstanding cast. | 5-nin no Junko [5人のジュンコ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Five characters, and I couldn't find a single reason to like any of them. | 99-nen no Ai ~Japanese Americans~ [99年の愛~JAPANESE AMERICANS~]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A more correct title would have been "What Japanese think it was like to immigrate to America". This script has more holes in it than I can remember, let's hope that Nisei (or Sansei, Yonsei or Gosei) never see it.
But, some good actors did their best with what they had to work with. Kusanagai proves once again that even if he's not as popular as Kimtaku, he's every bit his equal as an actor. Also good performances from Pinko Izumi as Tomo and Kiichi Nakai as Chokichi. |
99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi [99.9 刑事専門弁護士]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Barely a 7. They spent too much time trying to be cute and funny instead of serious. If they couldn't take themselves seriously, why should I? | A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito [アライフ ~ 愛しき人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Question: If you take the standard hospital drama, but put in some good actors, will it make a difference? Answer: No. It will still be the standard hospital drama. | Age Harassment [エイジハラスメント]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Another drama set in the corporate world where no one got ahead on ability or hard work, but everyone is either a liar or a scheming backstabber. It did have its moments however, and I really liked Naoto Takenaka as the section chief and Yumi Aso as the older OL. |
Ai wa Mieru [愛はみえる]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sentimental without going over the top, Aya and Koide were very good, so was Tanaka. Wish they had given more for Tanaka to do, she only had one big scene. | Aibou [相棒]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not good cop/bad cop, more like smart cop/dumb cop, but the two leads worked well together. Really good drama. | Aibou 11 [相棒 11]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Hiroki Narimiya joins as the new partner, the stereotypical young undisciplined cop. My favorite case was the one involving the old hotel out in the country. |
Aibou Season 10 [相棒 10]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
They seem to be running out of steam. Saya Takagi left, replaced by Anju Suzuki, the bad luck lady from 'Aibou 4'. Katsumi Takahashi comes back as his Phillip Marlowe wannabe from 'Aibou 5'. Not a good sign when they start recycling old characters. The final case about the clone came across like a bad sci-fi movie. The most interesting one was episode 8 about the photographer killed for all the wrong reasons. | Aibou Season 12 [相棒シーズン12]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Still haven't gotten used to Narmiya as Sugishita's partner. The best episode was the finale about the kidnapping and the old gangster. | Aibou Season 13 [相棒シーズン13]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Narimiya leaves. It was nice to see Yoshino Kimura return in the same character she played in "Aibou 3" but the whole 'Dark Knight' thing was like something out of a comic book and they brought in Yukie Nakama but her character didn't really contribute anything special. |
Aibou Season 14 [相棒 14]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sorimachi is the new partner. With his addition they seem to have brought back some of the humor when Terawaki was partner. My two favorite cases were the one involving the crime fighting computer and the one with the two actresses. | Aibou Season 15 [相棒 15]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kaburagi officially becomes part of Special Mission Unit. I miss Yonezawa from Forensics. They finally gave Kakuta something to do besides get coffee and trade one-liners. His episode was probably my favorite. But the special episode that followed it was one of the weirdest episodes of "Aibou" I've ever seen! | Aibou Season 16 [相棒 16]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sorimachi seems to have hit his stride as Kaburagi. Also nice to see an entire episode for Anju Suzuki instead of the usual five minutes behind the counter at the end of each episode. |
Aibou Season 2 [相棒]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Still pretty good, but 21 episodes was a bit much. | Aibou Season 3 [相棒3]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sugishita and Kameyama continue solving the unsolvable cases. I liked it better than Aibou 2, and the fact that Yoshino Kimura is in it is just a coincidence. (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!!!) | Aibou Season 4 [相棒 4]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
After four series' and over 60 episodes, still going strong!! |
Aibou Season 5 [相棒 5]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
As good as ever!!The episode about the movie director is one of my favorite of the entire series and Takahashi Katsumi as a Phillip Marlowe/Sam Spade wannabe was a hoot!! | Aibou Season 6 [相棒 6]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Entertaining, I enjoyed it, the episode of the husband and wife trying to kill each other was great, but overall not as good as "Aibou 5" IMO. | Aibou Season 7 [相棒 7]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kind of bittersweet, this was the last of the series with Terawaki Yasufumi. I'm going to miss the exchanges between Kameyama and Itami. He left about halfway thru and with the exception of the episodes with Tomoko Tabata, the remainder just weren't up to snuff. |
Aibou Season 8 [相棒 8]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Took awhile to get used to Oikawa as the new partner. The episode about the old man and the necklace is one of my favorites of the whole series. | Aibou Season 9 [相棒 9]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Oikawa has hit his stride as Kanbe, doing his slow burn when Sugishita aggravates him and Minami Kaho was one of the creepiest villians in the history of the series. | Aikurushii [あいくるしい]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Standard family drama with standard family drama problems, stand family drama solutions, standard family drama cliches and standard family drama overacting. (Especially Hayato Ichihara.) |
Aishiatteru kai [愛しあってるかい！]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Goofy and over the top, and if three teachers acted like this in real life, they'd get fired so fast they wouldn't know what him them. That's probably why it works. | Aishiteiru to Ittekure [愛していると言ってくれ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good love story, had some holes in the plot, but I overlooked those based on the performances by Toyokawa, Tokiwa, and Okada. | Aishiteru ~ Kaiyo [アイシテル ~ 海容]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good drama about getting over tragedy on both sides of the coin. Misako Tanaka was outstanding!! |
Akai Ito [赤い糸]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Thought this would be just another teenage romance drama, but it was much better than I expected! My only complaint is that I think they tried to do too much. The drug abuse story went too far and the Mami character really didn't add anything. But otherwise I thought it was very good. | Akujo [悪女]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not really a "bad" woman, more like an ambitious determined woman that aims to get what she wants. | Akumu-chan [悪夢ちゃん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kitagawa was good, but between the cheesy special effects and Kohinata in his Dr. Zorba getup it was pretty hard to take it seriously. |
Alice no Toge [アリスの棘]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The first three episodes were way too over the top but once it settled down it was pretty good. If you're not a fan of medical dramas don't be put off by that it's more a revenge/mystery drama in a medical setting. | Amachan [あまちゃん]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
All asadoras reach a point where they flatten out but usually they're able to come back. Not this one. Started out great but once it ran out of steam it was never able to recover. | Amai seikatsu [甘い生活。]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Akaishiya is hilarious again caught between Takashima, Uchida and Chiaki (she plays the part of Kyoko). All three of supporting actresses were great as well, but I thought Uchida was at her best in this. |
Ame to Yume no atoni [雨と夢の後に]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not really a horror or supernatural drama, more like a family drama in a supernatural setting. I really liked the work between Sawamura and Kurokawa. | Anata no Tonari ni Dareka Iru [あなたの隣に誰かいる]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Not really a fan of horror/supernatural genre, but started watching because of this cast. This was really well done, great job by all the actors, especially Yusuke Santamaria who I always thought of as just average but he was great, and Kazuki Kitamura excellent as well. | Ando Lloyd �` A.I. knows LOVE? �` [安堂ロイド〜A.I. knows LOVE?〜]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Kind of a cross between 'Terminator' and 'Matrix' with enough blood to make Takeshi Kitano homesick. Kimtaku take my advice, go back to being a romantic leading man, you're not so good as an avenging killer robot. |
Anone [あのね]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Took forever to get going, really didn't start to see where this was headed until about episode 5. But the cast, Eita, Yuko Tanaka, Sadao Abe, Satomi Kobayashi, were great as to be expected. Second half definitely better than the first half. | Antique [アンティーク〜西洋骨董洋菓子店]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty decent drama. Kippei was great and even Takky wasn't half-bad. (Did I really say that???) | Aoi Tokugawa Sandai [葵~?川三代~]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Really liked this taiga! Two strong actors in the leads (Tsugawa and Nishida). Unfortunately, NHK would stop that policy and later taigas would suffer as a result. |
Aoi Tori [青い鳥]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
It was good but I'm not a big fan of the "tragic romance" genre to begin with. Toyokawa and Suzuki's performances were the high point for me. | Arifureta Kiseki [ありふれた奇跡]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
A real drama about real people. Great writing and outstanding acting by all the cast!! | Arimura Kasumi no Satsukyu [有村架純の撮休]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
No real plot, whenever Arimura has a day off it covers what she did. Every episode is different. Some better than others. |
Around 40 [アラウンド40]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Some of my favorites here, the two Yuki's, (Amami and Matsushita) Mariko Kaga, but just average plot. | Asa ga Kita [あさが来た]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Starting near the end of the Edo period and going thru the Meiji era, sort of a combination asadora/taiga (although I think Asa Shirooka is a fictional character). Haru was okay as Asa but most of the supporting cast was very good, especially Hiroshi Tamaki as goofy Shinjirou. | Asakusa Fukumaru Ryokan [浅草ふくまる旅館]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Toshiyuki Nishida shines as the good-hearted, goofy inn keeper!! |
Asakusa Fukumaru Ryokan Season 2 [浅草ふくまる旅館 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The return visit was even better than the first!! | Ashita ga aru kara [あしたがあるから]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Business/work drama with the woman in charge this time. Not bad. Interesting seeing a young Fukuyama before he became a star. | Ashita no Kita Yoshio [あしたの、喜多善男]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Smart, well written, great performances, I loved every second of it! |
Ashita, Mama ga Inai
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The first episode was pretty heavy handed and I didn't know if I could finish this one. But once they toned it down it got pretty good. The kids were all good but once again Ashida was great. The ending felt rushed to me, could have used one more episode to fill things out. | Asuka [あすか]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Good job by Yuko and the rest of the cast. Good insight into the making of wagashi. | Asunaro hakusho [あすなろ白書]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Got off to a good start, but after awhile the whole "Narumi/Kakei" thing got real tiresome. |
At Home Dad [アットホーム・ダッド]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Probably more like 8.5. Nice, sweet, family drama. Everybody talks about Abe and he did a great job, but don't overlook Miyasako Hiroyuki and Nakajima Tomoko as the first "at home dad/working mom", and Ando Sakura as Rie is a peach. | Atami no Sousakan [熱海の捜査官]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
You know it's going to be strange when Odagiri Joe is one of the more "normal" characters. Eri Fuse was a hoot!! | Atsu-Hime [篤姫]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Something different, a taiga from a woman's point of view. But given that cast, I thought it could have been better. |
Attention Please [アテンションン プリース]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Just average plot, but Aya's enthusiasm and a pretty decent cast (Esp. Miki Maya) bring it up | Bambino! [バンビーノ!]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A Jun Matsumoto drama. That is all you need to know. | Banjou no Alpha ~ Yakusoku no Shogi [盤上のアルファ ~ 約束の将棋]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It wasn't bad, but for just four episodes they'd tried to do too much. The shogi player trying to make a comeback, the gambler/bribe, the estranged father and son, the Minami Higa subplot with the other shogi player was just a distraction. Like I said, not bad, but they should have trimmed some of the plot. |
Bara no nai Hanaya [薔薇のない花屋]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay. Yuuki Yagi is great, but the last episode and a half pretty unbelievable and stretched out way too long. | Beach boys [ビーチボーイズ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
O.K., it runs on a little too long and there's lots of "filler" where nothings really happening, but still I liked this drama a lot! And just as in "Long Vacation", Izumi Inamori darn near steals the show! | Beautiful life [ビューティフルライフ]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Lots of good performances here. But Watabe Atsuro is easy to overlook as the over-protective older brother! |
Beautiful Rain [ビューティフルレイン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Similar to the "terminal illness" type dramas, except the illness isn't terminal which means by the third episode you pretty much know how this is going to turn out.
But still, not nearly as chessy as they could have made it although it did have its moments. All the actors did their best, given what they had to work with. | Bengoshi no Kuzu [弁護士のくず]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
"Kuzu" in Japanese means trash or garbage which was supposed to be a pun for the title but I thought it was very appropriate. Granted, it did have a few bright spots, but after most episodes I felt a need to take a shower. | BG ~ Shinpen Keigonin [BG ~ 身辺警護人]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Kimtaku's best drama since "Priceless". Good script by Yumiko Inoue who also did "Gift", "Engine" and "Good Luck", and good supporting cast and guests as well. |
Big Money! [ビッグマネー！〜浮世の沙汰は株しだい〜]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Very well done drama. Not so much about stocks and banks as it is about the little guy beating the big guy. | Big wing [ビッグウイング]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Uchida is great as the energetic, exuberant Kumiko Yoshikawa, but beyond that there's really not much to offer.
If you're in the mood for something sweet and simple this will probably do the trick. | Bishoku Tantei Akechi Goro [美食探偵 明智五郎]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
In 2006 there was a drama "Kuitan" with the same premise, a foodie/detective. Watch that instead, this thing is a total mess. |
Bitter Sugar [ビターシュガー]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
After all these years, putting in her time, paying her dues Ryo finally got a lead role. She deserved better.
There were about 8 characters in this drama and I didn't care about any of them! Not the fault of the actors though, just a very bad script. | Boku dake no Madonna [僕だけのマドンナ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
If the director had been smart, he would have sat Tackey down to watch the scenes with Miki Maya and Leo Morimoto and said, "See what these 2 are doing? It's called acting. Take notes." | Boku ga boku de aru tame ni [僕が僕であるために]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
I guess how much you like this depends on how big an SMAP fan you are. Great supporting cast, but when you're SMAP, I guess you can get whoever you want! |
Boku no Aruku Michi [僕の歩く道]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Ever since I saw "Ii Hito" I've been saying Kusanagi is just as good an actor as Kimtaku, and he proved again here. He portrayal of autistic Teruaki was outstanding. Good job by the supporting cast as well. Especially Aiko Nagayama as Teruaki's mother. | Boku no Imoto [ぼくの妹]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
All the actors (yes, even Nagasawa) were great. Now if the writer had only decided what the hell he wanted, this could go have been a real good drama. | Boku no Ita Jikan [僕のいた時間]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Very well done on an issue that could be hard to deal with. Miura really great and a good job by Tabe as well. |
Boku no Mahou Tsukai [僕の魔法使い]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Check your brain at the door, but in a nice way. Real goofy comedy. Shinohara's character was irritating at times but that was more than offset by the other actors, especially Abe and Furuta. | Boku no Yabai Tsuma [僕のヤバイ妻]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Well written, good job by all the actors. They keep you guessing. | Boku Tachi no Senso [僕たちの戦争]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The old time travel scenario, but when they try to be funny it doesn't work which undercuts when they're trying to be serious. Coupled with a very confusing ending, not a very good drama. |
Bokura no yuuki ~miman toushi~ [ぼくらの勇氣 ~未滿都市~]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A nice spin on "the adults are all dead and the kids take over" scenario. I though it was pretty good. | BOSS
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The last three episodes were some of the best in any drama, if the rest of the drama were this good, I'd have given this a 9. Unfortunately, the first eight episodes are so lame, it gets a charitable 7. | BOSS Season 2
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
History repeats, pretty lame until the final case and even that one wasn't that good, what was up with that "everybody lives happily ever after" ending?
At least they did give Hasegawa something to do the last two episodes, but why bring in someone as talented as Riko Narumi to just sit in front of a laptop and bang on the keyboard? Didn't think the first BOSS was all that great, and the sequel was no improvement. |
Brand [ブランド]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good work by Imai, Ichikawa and Yoshida. For some reason, I empathized with Yoshida's character (the twice rejected boyfriend) the most. | Brother Beat [ブラザー☆ビート]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice family drama, good but not great. I like Misako Tanaka a lot, but the obligatory fight every episode got to be a bit much. | Bull Doctor [ブルドクター]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Don't be fooled by the cast, "Bull Doctor" is a crap drama! |
Byouin no Naoshikata ~ Dr Arihara no Chousen [病院の治しかた]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A business drama set in a hospital. Mostly people sitting around having meetings. Pretty boring overall. | Byplayers ~ Moshimo 6-nin no Meiwakiyaku ga Sharehouse de Kurashitara [バイプレイヤーズ ~ もしも6人の名脇役がシェアハウスで暮らしたら]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Interesting, the actors, even the guests, don't play roles, they're playing themselves. Had several laugh out loud moments. Good fun. | Byplayers Season 2 ~ Moshimo Meiwakiyaku ga TV Tokyo Dora de Mujinto Seikatsu Shitara [バイプレイヤーズ～もしも名脇役がテレ東朝ドラで無人島生活したら～]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Funnier than the first! And it was also fun seeing all the "guest stars". But still bittersweet as this was Ren Osugi's last drama before he passed away. |
Call Center no Koibito [コールセンターの恋人]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The scriptwriters needed to call somebody for help, even Mimura couldn't salvage this thing. | Carnation [カーネーション]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty good asadora. Good storyline and cast did a real good job as well. | Cecile no Mokuromi [セシルのもくろみ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Most of the comments I've seen about this drama people didn't like it, so I guess I'm in the minority because I liked it. Maki, Ito, and the rest of the cast were good. If you're a guy, the closing credits alone make it worth watching!
A few years ago there was another drama about fashion, "First Class". Pass on that one, watch this one. |
Chance [チャンス]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Mikami and Nishida great as the former rock star and his put upon manager. | CHANGE
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A marginal 8. It was good, but it had the potential to be great. | Cheap Love [チープラブ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Great up until about half-way thru episode 8 when they decided to change directions. Special mention for Yuu Yoshizawa as the loyal, somewhat naive Ryo. |
Chef ~ Mitsuboshi no Kyushoku [Chef ~ 三ツ星の給食]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The food looked real good, but the storyline was strictly leftovers. | Chiisana Kyojin [小さな巨人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A marginal 7. The second half was better than the first half. Unfortunately, this is another drama where they equate yelling and screaming with good acting. After awhile it just gets tiresome. | Chiritotechin [ちりとてちん]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not your typical "heroine overcomes adversities" Asadora. I especially liked Emi Wakui as B-Ko's ditzy Mom. It also gives a good insight into the world of rakugo. |
Churasan [ちゅらさん]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
The funniest asadora, but the last 15-20 episodes were basically "filler" and a cliche ending, still I liked it a lot. | Churasan Season 2 [ちゅらさん２]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
The whole gang returns! Honestly, I liked this more than the original, probably because with full episodes they were able to flesh out the characters more. Very enjoyable sequel. | Churasan Season 3 [ちゅらさん３]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It had its moments, but they had to bring in the old "terminal illness" cliche, not a good sign. |
Churasan Season 4 [ちゅらさん４]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not a bad sequel. But they did seem to be running out of steam and knew this was a good time to quit. | Coach [コーチ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A combination of the fish-out-of-water scenario (city girl sent out to the sticks) and the little factory vs. the big corporation. My only complaint is Asano's hairstyle. With those bangs and her expressions, she often looked like she was about to go postal. | Code Blue Season 2 [コード・ブルー 2]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty much the same as the first one, no major changes. Which is either a good or bad thing depending on what you thought of the original. |
Code Blue: Doctor Heli Kinkyu Kyumei [コード・ブルー]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Yanagiba, Ryo, Toda, and Higa all good. Aragaki and Yamapi pretty bad. They could have replaced Yamapi's character with one of the skids on the helicopter and it wouldn't have made any difference. | Coin Locker Monogatari [コインロッカー物語]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Four episode drama showing another AKB48 member that can't act. | Control ~ Hanzai Shinri Sousa [ＣＯＮＴＲＯＬ〜犯罪心理捜査〜]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Another male/female cop partners drama. Not bad, but not particulary great either. |
CRISIS ~ Kouan Kidou Sousatai Tokusou-han [CRISIS ~ 公安機動捜査隊特捜班]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good storyline, some real good fight scenes. It appears Shun Oguri has finally escaped from his fangirl heart throb roles to those of a full blown adult now. | Dai Ni Gakusho [第二楽章]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Predictable melodrama. | Daisuki!! [だいすき!!]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Karina is phenomenal!!! The drama itself isn't anything special, but Karina is so good she makes this a must see drama. |
Dakara Koya [だから荒野]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice, short drama with Kyoka Suzuki as a housewife that gets tired of being treated as little more than the hired help and leaves her family, eventually ending up in Nagasaki. Interesting characters, well done. | Danda Rin ~ Roudou Kijun Kantokukan [ダンダリン 労働基準監督官]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
The serious parts weren't believable and the funny parts weren't funny. Other than that, it was fine. | Danjo Shichinin Natsu Monogatari [男女7人夏物語]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good. It was nice seeing actors that went on to have fine careers ( he's not listed here but Yanagiba Toshiro is in this as well) as they were starting out. But sometimes I wanted to yell at some of the characters, "Grow Up!!!" |
Dare Yori mo Mama wo Aisu [誰よりもままを愛す]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Pretty lame. If it wasn't for Yuki Uchida and Ito Ran I would have given this a 2. | Darenimo ienai [誰にも言えない]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It's not a bad drama, but Shiro Sano and Senri Yamazaki's characters were so wacked out and unlikable, especially Sano's, made it hard to keep watching. A couple times I almost quit. And somebody tell me, in the final episode when Sano is in that hiding place under the floor, if he got in there by himself, who covered it up with the rug?! | Date ~ Koi to wa Donna Mono Kashira [デート ~ 恋とはどんなものかしら]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Best romantic comedy since "Kekkon Dekinai"! Great writing, great performances by all the cast, excellent all the way around. |
Dear Sister [ディア・シスター]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Started watching it because of Nao Matsuhita which is a good thing because Satomi Ishihara's Misaki was one of the most irritating, unlikable characters I've seen in awhile. Of course, it turns she's not a totally selfish a-hole and everybody lives happily ever after. Women will like this drama, men, probably not as much. | Dekichatta Kekkon [できちゃった結婚]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Really well done!!! The "accidental pregnancy" cliche, but they made it so fresh, and a great cast as well. | Denchi ga kireru made [電池が切れるまで]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Good cast, but pretty standard story of critically ill children, check Riko Narumi in one of her first roles. |
Densha Otoko [電車男]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Hilarious! Easily the best dorama of 2005, Miho Shiraishi stole the show! | Dirty Mama! [ダーティ・ママ!]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
The only one that comes out of this drama ahead is the little kid that plays Nagasaku's son Hashizo. He's only 1 year old and if he lives to be 80 he'll never be in another drama as bad as this one! | Dobutsu no Oisha-san [動物のお医者さん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Watched it to see Yoshizawa in a lead because I really liked him in "Cheap Love". He did a good job, but didn't really knock me out. Just an o.k. drama |
Doctor-X ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko [ドクターX 〜外科医・大門未知子]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
This drama is long on Ryoko Yonekura's legs but short on plot or believability. The fanboys will love it though. | Doctor-X Season 2 ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko [ドクターX 2 ~ 外科医・大門未知子]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Same as season 1 only more so. | Doctor-X Season 3 ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko [ドクターX 3 ~ 外科医・大門未知子]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Third verse, same as the first. Which was same as the second. |
Dokonjo Gaeru [ど根性ガエル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Yeah, it's kind of goofy, but it's based on a kids' anime, what did you expect, "The 47 Ronin"? Anyway, Matsuyama channels his inner otaku much like he did in "Sexy Voice and Robo" and even though it's just her voice Hikari Mitsushima is great as Pyonkichi. | Dokushin Kizoku [独身貴族]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
"Sabrina" with a Japanese twist. Well done by all the four main actors. | Dokushin seikatsu [独身生活]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The main storyline with Esumi, Sato, and Osugi is very good, and they are very good as well. There is subplot with two other characters that is mostly just filler. |
Don Quixote [ドン★キホーテ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A nice take on the "switched personalities" storyline. Matsuda was great!! I wish they'd given Uchida and Narumi more to do though. | Dondo Bare [どんど晴れ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
If there is a more boring asadora, I hope I never find it. | Dosokai [同窓会]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good adult drama. The final episode is the best one. I really liked Yuki Saito as Yoko! |
Double kitchen [ダブルキッチン]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Actually the drama (plot) is just a little above average. The fun comes in watching 2 pros (Tomoko Yamaguchi and Yoko Nogiwa) at their best. Also honorable mention to Shiro Ito, his deadpan delivery gave me some of the biggest laughs. | Doubles ~ Futari no Keiji [ダブルス ~ 二人の刑事]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Can't really blame the actors, you work with what they give you. But the writers and directors should be arrested and charged with imitating professional artists. If you want to see Ito and Sakaguchi in something good, watch "Tentai Kanzoku". | Dr Koto - Shinryoujo 2006 [Dr.コトー診療所2006]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not quite as good as the original but Yuu Aoi was suprisingly good |
Dr. Koto Shinryojo [Dr.コトー診療所]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
O.K. I'll watch just about anything thats set in Okinawa, but still, an entertaining drama. | Dragon Zakura [ドラゴン桜]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Nice cast, no chemistry | Dragonfly [とんぼ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and Sho Aikawa both great as the archetypal "yakuza with a sense of justice" and his loyal, but not too bright flunky. Like most yakuza stories, not a warm fuzzy ending. |
Dream Again [ドリーム☆アゲイン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Mirai Shida was great, but the ending left me saying "Huh???" | Edison no Haha [エジソンの母]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
This was about a first grade kid and his class. That also appeared to be their target audience. | Eerie Mienai Kao [イアリー]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Usual good stuff from WOWOW. All the actors were very good, especially Risa Naka. Ending felt hurried, maybe could have used another episode. |
Eigyou Buchou Kira Natsuko [営業部長 吉良奈津子]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Good cast, Nanako, Matsuda, Harada pretty much wasted in a standard plot. | Engine [エンジン]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Kimura and Koyuki didn't really work together for me, but the kids were great! | Enka no Joou [演歌の女王 (えんか の じょおう)]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Part drama, part comedy, part musical, part fantasy. Great performances by Yuki, Taizo Harada and Riko Narumi. |
Fire Boys [ファイアーボーイズ 〜め組の大吾〜]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
The old "newcomber full of enthusiasm meets the real world" cliche. Nothing really special. | First Class [ファースト クラス]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
More like "Worst Class". If you're an Erika Sawajiri fanboy or a 14 year old girl that spends all her time reading fashion magazines this might be good. I am neither. Gets my vote for worst drama of 2014 so far. | Food fight [フードファイト]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
The stories about the kids were okay although somewhat predictable, the rest TOTALLY unbelievable!! A talking crow! A guy with two stomachs! And Kusanagi eating all that food and not gaining an ounce!! Did anybody really believe any of that?!!? |
Freeter, Ie o Kau. [フリーター、家を買う。]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good drama. My biggest complaint is with the director's decision to turn Asano Atsuko into a nodding semi-coherent robot. She's a much better actress than that and given the chance I think she could have given a much more realisitic portrayal of someone suffering from mental illness.
All the other actors did a good job, especially Takenaka Naoto as the father. | Fuben na Benriya [不便な便利屋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
So funny! One of the best collections of oddball, off the wall characters ever in one drama. It does get more serious the last two episodes but that did not take away from the overall drama at all. | Fufudo [夫婦道]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Really nice, funny, sweet, family drama. Takeda and Yamasaki were great!! |
Fufudo Season 2 [夫婦道 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
The further adventures of the Takanabe family. Nice sequel. Unlike the sequels that fail, they didn't make any major changes from the original, just the addition of Kaoru Sugita and she fit in fine. | Fukaku Mogure [深く潜れ〜八犬伝2001]
Rating: 1/10 (Bought & Watched)
Every actor has one role where they look back and say, "What the hell was I thinking doing that piece of crap?" For Manami Konishi, this is that role!! | Fukigen na katsujitsu [不機嫌な果実]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The actors were all good, but it was still just your basic marital infidelity drama. |
Fumo Chitai [不毛地帯]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Outstanding in every way!! Best drama of '09!! | Fushin no toki [不信のとき]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
They turned the casting on it's head: Ryoko the wife, Yuki Matsushita the "other woman". I love Kaoru Sugita as the nosy neighbor! | Futarikko [ふたりこ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good story line and good job by the cast as well. |
Fuurin Kazan [風林火山]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
VERY underrated Taiga! Possibly because they cast a real actor, Masaaki Uchino as Kensuke instead of a "star". If you are into tactics and philosophy this is a must-see. Great stories, plots and sub-plots and some great characters in Yamamoto Kansuke, Nagao Kagetora, Sanada Yukitaka and Sessai. Some people don't like Gackt, but I think he did a good job his first time out and the old school are well represented by Sonny Chiba and Nakadai Tatsuya | Fuyo no Hito ~ Fujisancho no Tsuma [芙蓉の人 〜 富士山頂の妻]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The most boring part of any newscast is the weather report. And that's basically what you have here, a story about a weatherman and his wife. They tried, but I don't think there was ever a chance for a good drama here to begin with. | Fuyu no Sakura [冬のサクラ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Giving this a 6 because it became totally unglued at episode 6 and went downhill rapidly. Masanobu Takashima over the top as the most psychotic doctor I've seen in a long time.
I did like the relationship between the two brothers though and Rosa Kato was nice as Hajime's girlfriend, Anna. |
Gachi Baka ! [ガチバカ !]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Another high school drama in the "GTO", "Gokusen" genre. Except those two dramas were good. | Gaiji Keisatsu [外事警察]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Well done, but a mystery/thriller that ends up leaving more questions than answers, so somewhat disappointing. | Gakkou no sensei [ガッコの先生]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
There's "GTO" with high school kids, "Medaka" with adult students, "Gakkou no Sensei" is with elementary school kids. Dohmoto and Yuko were great as was the supporting cast. My only complaint, and it's a small one is some of the kid actors weren't up to it. But they're kids so you make allowances, otherwise a very good drama. |
Galileo [ガリレオ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Similar to "Trick" but different enough to stand on its own. The final episode was great!! | Galileo Season 2 [ガリレオ 2]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Was going to give this an 8 just like I did the first Galileo, but the explanation in the final episode was so preposterous had to knock it down one. | Ganbatte Ikimasshoi [がんばっていきまっしょい]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Standard high school/sports "they say we can't do it, we'll show them!" scenario. If it weren't for Anne Suzuki would have had a hard time finishing this one, but she is great as Etsune! |
Gegege no Nyobo [ゲゲゲの女房]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
This one will probably be remembered as the one that put Nao Matsushita over the top while saving the asadora format for the foreseeable future. | Gekokujo Juken [下剋上受験]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Standard feel good family drama complete with feel good family problems/crises and feel good family overcoming those problems/crises. | Gentler than the Rain [雨よりも優しく]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
One of the first, maybe the first, of the "classmates 20 years later" scenario. Not too bad. |
Ghost Friends [ゴーストフレンズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad. I probably would have liked it more if I were still a teenager. | Ghost Writer [ゴーストライター]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The main storyline between Nakatani, Mizukawa, and Tanaka was very good. But there were some subplots involving Nakatani's mother, her son, and her secretary that were more of a distraction than anything else. Good work by the main three actors and also Shohei Miura in a supporting role. | Gift [ギフト]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
More like 9.5, a very underrated Kimura drama! (If there's such a thing) Excellent script, great cast, so many good supporting actors here can't list them all. Great, great drama, big thumbs up!! |
Gin Nikan [銀二貫]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A period drama and just like taigas the supporting cast was very good but Kento Hayashi in the lead as Matsukichi was almost as dull as the Kanten he sold. | Gisou Furin [偽装不倫]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The big mistake was making this a serious drama. Anne and Yukie have both shown they can do comedy well, they should have made this a comedy of errors starting with the confusion over the ring. But instead they made a serious drama with way too many side plots and cliches. Real missed opportunity. | Gisou no Fuufu [偽装の夫婦]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
They had the perfect ending after episode 8 but they added two more episodes which brought it down a little. Still, a very good drama, Ikki Sawamura was great! |
GM Odore Doctor [GM~踊れドクター]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Or, "Kuitan becomes a doctor". They tried to copy the success of "Kuitan" but it comes up short for a couple reasons.
1) In the place of Momo-chan and Igarashi they've got some faceless and colorless hospital execs that just want to close down GM. No real clash of personalites there.
2) The supporting cast does their best, but there just isn't the same chemistry like you had with the characters at Holmes Detective.
It might have been a good idea in theory, but it just doesn't work. | Going My Home [ゴーイング マイ ホーム]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The writer/director (Hirokazu Koreeda) made a movie "Still Walking" and this is very similar in style and feel to that. But as a drama, it just didn't work for me. | Gokuaku Ganbo [極悪がんぼ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Some good actors and interesting characters but I never understood what exactly it was that Koshimizu Consulting or the "fixers" did. That was never explained at all. Very confusing drama. |
Gokusen [ごくせん]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Typical teacher vs. rebellious students, but Yukie really makes it work!!! | Gokusen Season 2 [ごくせん２]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Another sequel not nearly as good as the original | GOLD
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
If you thought "Topcaster" or "Rikon Bengoshi 2" were the worst dramas Yuki has ever been in, Think again. The only interesting character was Terajima Susumu as Yuki's ex. |
Golden Bowl [ゴールデンボウル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Took forever to get started, and the last episode took forever to end. The singing/fashion conscious yakuza are hilarious! | Gomen ne Seishun! [ごめんね青春!]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
With the exception of the asadora "Hitomi" I could honestly say I had never seen Hikari Mitsushima in a bad drama. Until now. | Gonzo - Densetsu no Keiji [ゴンゾウ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not on the same level as 'Odoru Daisassousen' or 'Ningen no Shomei' but still very good. There was one major hole in the plot (I felt) and that could have resolved lots of things, but still, good script and good job by all the actors. |
Good Job [グッジョブ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A nice drama about the trials and tribulations of a group of OL's. They're the ones that REALLY run the company and get things done. Wish it had been a little longer though, not much time for character development in such a short series. | Good Luck !! [グッドラック！！]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
The second drama I ever saw and my first exposure to Kimtaku. At the time I knew nothing about him, but his on screen presence you could tell he was somebody special.
Wish the same could be said for the drama. It was okay, although the ending felt tacked on. | Good Partner ~ Muteki no Bengoshi [グッドパートナー ~ 無敵の弁護]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The problem with this drama is Takenouchi and Yasuko Matsuyuki are supposed to be a divorced couple. These two have absolutely no attraction or chemistry between them. Never mind being divorced, I couldn't believe they had ever been married. |
Gou ~ Himetachi no Sengoku [江 ~ 姫たちの戦国]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Worst taiga since Yoshitsune. "Go" is an appropriate name though. If they make many more as bad as "Go" the taiga format could find itself gone! | Great Teacher Onizuka 2012 [グレート ティーチャー オニヅカ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
NEVER try to remake a classic. | GTO [麻辣教師]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Best of the high school drama genre |
Gu-gu Datte Neko de Aru [グーグーだって猫である]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Only four episodes but another good one from the folks at WOWOW. That's what happens when you have a good script and real actors. | Gu-gu Datte Neko de Aru Season 2 [グーグーだって猫である]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
This is a prequel to the first Gou Gou from 2014. The first one was better, but the last two episodes of Gou Gou 2 were very good. | Gunshi Kanbee [軍師官兵衛]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Best taiga since "Fuurin Kazan" which oddly enough was also about a strategist. Okada did a good job as Kanbee. Excellent supporting cast. Especially Naoto Takenaka reprising his role as Hideyoshi from the 1996 taiga. Also great was Tetsushi Tanaka as Murashige, definitely the best part of the first half of the taiga. |
Haburashi / Onna Tomodachi [はぶらし／女友だち]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice, tight drama. Well written, good job by Uchida and Ikewaki. Good work by the supporting cast as well. | Hachidai Shogun Yoshimune [八代将軍吉宗]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A 7 might be too high. Nishida was excellent, but he doesn't show up until episode 10 almost 1/4 of the way thru the taiga. Because it takes place during the Edo period there's not a lot of fighting like there would be during a sengoku taiga. It may hold the record for most scenes with people sitting on tatami mats talking. One thing I liked was the narrator was an actual character (played by Toru Emori) not some disembodied voice. Kind of a one man Greek chorus. It was entertaining but not great. | Hagetaka [ハゲタカ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Liked this drama a lot! Oomori, Shibata, and Kuriyama were all very good. |
Haha ni Naru [母になる]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The ONLY reason to watch this is Eiko Koike, she was very good. However, her character doesn't have a lot to do until episode 6. On the other hand, Sawajiri should stick to CM's and R-rated movies, anything that doesn't require a lot of acting ability. | Haikei, Chichiue-sama [拝啓、父上様]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Can't believe some think this was better than 'Yasashi Jikan'!! At least that had a plot. The father/son estrangement, the husband dealing with his deceased wife. All I can say about this drama is that goes nowhere and resolves nothing. But it does have a nice theme song! | Haitatsu Saretai Watashitachi [配達されたい私たち]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another short, well done drama by the folks at WOWOW. Good cast as well, although thanks for the epilogue, the last scene in the theater had me a little confused. |
Hajimemashite, Aishiteimasu [はじめまして、愛しています。]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
I'm giving this a 3 because you have 3 episodes (6,7, & 8) that aren't bad, but the rest is crap. One of the worst final episodes ever. | Haken no Hinkaku [ハケンの品格]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
I give this a 4 because anybody over the age of 4 would never believe this plot. | Haken no Oscar [派遣のオスカル ~ 少女漫画』に愛を込めて]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not great by any means, but it had its moments. |
Hakusen nagashi [白線流し]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The plot, the actors were good, but not great. However, it had a lot more realistic feel to it than say, GTO. I really liked it. | HAMMER SESSION! [ハンマーセッション!]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I guess things really do even out. Mirai Shida was in one of the better school dramas (Queen's Classroom) and with "Hammer Session", now she can say she was in one of the not so good (to put it kindly) school dramas. | Hana Moyu [花燃ゆ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Whereas "Yae no Sakura" had a great first half and then went downhill, "Hana Moyu" is just the opposite, it took forever to get going. It didn't start to get interesting until about episode 28 when Miwa (Mao) went into the Ooku. If they had been able to show in just 15 episodes what they took they first 25 for it would have been a lot more interesting.
All taigas have a great cast, but I thought the best performance was by Yoshiko Mita as Sei. |
Hanako to Anne [花子とアン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Yoshitaka was very good as Hanako but the title "Hanako to Anne" is kind of a misnomer. The book doesn't show up until about 3 weeks before the end of the drama and the printing of it doesn't happen until the last 3 episodes. They should have called it "Hanako to Renko". Speaking of which, they spent way too much time on Yukie and her character. It was a distraction a lot of the time. They could have just as easily told more about Hanako's family. | Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai [花咲舞が黙ってない]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
I have no idea why this got the ratings it did. The "joke" about Kamikawa kicking Anne in the shins got old around episode 3 but they carried all the way to the second to last episode. The plots were very predictable, you could usually figure out who the culprit was halfway thru or sometimes sooner. Just average at best. | Hanawake no Yon Shimai [華和家の四姉妹]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Well, it's got Kichise Michiko, but that's about it. |
Hanayome no Chichi [花嫁の父]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice, sweet little drama. I wish they had expanded more on the storyline between Yanagiba and Yo, but they decided not to go that way. Still a good drama. | Hanayome wa Yakudoshi! [花嫁は厄年ッ！]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Shinohara fans might find a reason to like this. But they'd be the only ones. | Hanazakari no Kimitachi e [花ざかりの君たちへ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Acting was too much over the top and all in all it was pretty unbelievable. |
Hanzai Shokogun 1 [犯罪症候群 1]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
It wasn't bad until the final case involving the little boy who was kidnapped and murdered, that crossed the line for me, won't be watching season 2. Heads up for Mimura fans, she only appears in the first three episodes. | Hanzawa Naoki [半沢直樹]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Initially I thought this was going to be very good. I mean "Fumo Chitai" or "Shiroi Kyoto" good. But after awhile all the yelling, screaming, rolling eyes, pounding on tables, extreme close-ups, I was saying to myself, "Get it over with already." In a drama filled with bad overacting I'm casting my vote for Kataoka Ainosuke as worst overactor of the century. | Happy mania [ハッピーマニア]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Probably too over the top and goofy for some, but Inamori's character really made this one for me. |
Haru to Natsu/Haru e Natsu [ハルとナツ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Yukie and Ryoko worked well together.Nice drama about post-war Japan. | Hatachi no kekkon [２０歳の結婚]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Bring your earplugs. Lots of yelling and screaming. Hard to believe this is the same Yuka that turned into such a good actress. | Hataraki Man [働きマン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kanno was great, but honestly, 75% of this drama was filler. You could watch episode 1, then skip to episode 10 and 11 and not miss a thing. |
Hatsukoi [初恋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Very well done!! Kimura and Ihara, as to be expected were good, but the big surprise for me was Aoki Munetaka. His previous work has been somewhere between mediocre and bad, but he was excellent in this! | Heisei meoto jawan ~ dokechi no hanamichi
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The best family drama nobody ever talks about. The supporting cast is just average, Noriyuki Higashiyama is good as Mantaro a guy who means well but things never quite work usually because of his own doing. The real star of this drama is Atsuko Asano. I have NEVER seen anyone that could convey so much feeling and emotion without even saying a word. She was outstanding in every way. | Hero
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
To me, it looked like Kimura and Matsu were just going thru the motions, no energy, no spark. The cases weren't interesting except for Ryos' and by then it was too late, I had already lost interest. |
Hero Season 2
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
When I watched the first "HERO" I thought it was the worst drama Kimura had ever done. It's basically the same format as before, lots of slamming doors, rapid fire one-liners and in the end Kimtaku saves the day. This version is better than the original but still not great by any means. | Hideyoshi [秀吉]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Naoto Takenaka outstanding in probably the ultimate "rags to riches" story ever, going from sandal bearer to one of the great leaders in the history of Japan. I really liked Yasuko Sawaguchi as O-ne and Etusko Ichihara as Naka (Hideyoshi's mom). | Higashino Keigo Mysteries [東野圭吾ミステリーズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
In spite of all the high-powered guest stars, the "mysteries" weren't very compelling. The only episode I really found interesting was Ryoko Hirosue's (ep. 9). |
Hikari to Tomo ni [光とともに]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I think Shinohara gave her best drama performance in this, and Kobayashi was great as well. Real good drama about a subject that isn't easy to tackle. | Hikon Kazoku [非婚家族]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected. Real characters played well by all the actors, especially Sanada and Suzuki. | Hito ni Yasashiku [人にやさしく / ３ピース]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
One of my favorites!!! Funny, touching, great cast and story |
Hito no fukou wa hachimitsu no aji [ひとの不幸は蜜の味]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Misa Shimizu gets a reality check when she gets to work for her idol. Shinobu Otake and especially Pinko Izumi were hilarious. | Hitomi [瞳]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
When aired in Japan, it got the worst ratings of any asadora ever. And after watching it, I can see why. Even Nishida couldn't salvage this thing!! | Hitori gurashi [ひとり暮らし]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
At episode 4 I was wondering why I was still watching this, but in episode 5 we find out that Nagasaku's character obviously has some issues and it got a lot more interesting after that. Can't rate this higher because it took so long to get going. |
Hitori Shizuka [ヒトリシズカ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Real good up thru the first five episodes, but the final episode was a big let down, this really needed at least one more episode to fill things out. | Hitotsu yane no shita 1 [ひとつ屋根の下 1]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice family drama. Eguchi and Sakai were good, but the rest of the cast delivered some pretty average performances. A marginal 8. | Hojo Tokimune [北条時宗]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The Mongol hordes and Kami kaze. Great cast. Battle scenes really well done. |
Home Drama [ホームドラマ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A variation on the "we're not related but we live as a family" theme which was done better in "Hitotsu Yane" and "Hotman".
Dohmoto's character similar to Natsuo that he did a better job with in "Summer Snow". | Homework [ホームワーク]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Contrary to what some people might say, not all dramas made in the '90s were "classics" and "Homework" is a good example. It's not a bad drama, just not a real great one either. | Honmamon [ほんまもん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Better than average asadora. Took some getting used to, but not bad. |
Hotaru no haka [蛍の墓]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
'War is cruelty, you cannot disguise it." - W.T. Sherman. Nanako was at her best. | Hotman [ホットマン]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
First drama I ever saw. This is the one that got me hooked! | Hungry! [ハングリー！]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Fangirl fluff. But the food looked good! |
I have a fever [熱っぽいの!]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Standard young girl just starting out in the real world. Nothing really special. | I'm Home [アイムホーム]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not bad. A definite improvement over "Ando Lloyd". The thing about the masks got to be a bit too much after awhile though. | Idaten ~ Tokyo Olympic Banashi [いだてん ~ 東京オリムピック噺]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Lowest rated taiga ever and I can see why. There's no real conflict, no good guy vs. bad guy. The actors all did their best, Sadao Abe brought his usual energy, but the story just wasn't there. |
Iguana no musume [イグアナの娘]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Maybe the strangest drama I've ever seen. Totally unbelievable storyline, but I'm giving it a 6 based on 3 great performances by Miho Kanno, Rena Komine, and Hitomi Sato. Oh yeah, remember to look both ways before crossing the street! | Ii hito [いいひと。]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
I loved this drama!!! Kusanagi and Kanno were both great!!! Great story and strong supporting cast, highly recommended!!! | Ikebukuro West Gate Park [池袋ウエストゲートパーク]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
I had heard this drama was funny. So, in episode 1 after seeing a young girl attacked and a dog killed, I thought to myself, "Oh yeah, this is going to be a real barrel of monkeys."
I'm giving it a 3 because if you took out every scene where somebody was getting beat up, stabbed, bleeding, or dying, you might have enough material for three episodes. |
Ikemen Desu Ne [美男ですね]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I haven't seen the Korean version. People say it was better. My only question is, "How could it not be?!!?" | Ima Ai ni Yukimasu [いま会いにゆきます]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
ALL the actors were great, the story was great, but this is one of those dramas that you have to watch to the very end though. | Imouto yo [妹よ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pure romance! Wakui and Karasawa were great! |
Innocent Love [イノセント・ラヴ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
In the contest for "Worst Drama of 2008" I put this in a tie with "Last Friends" | IQ246 ~ Karei naru Jikenbo [IQ246 ~ 華麗なる事件簿]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Similar to "Galileo", a smart guy solving crimes. The difference is "Galileo" was well written and had good acting. | Iryu Sosa [遺留捜査]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another quirky detective drama, not bad. I really liked Kamikawa's Itomura. |
Ishi no Mayu [石の繭]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Real good, short police drama. As we've come to expect from the folks at WOWOW very well done. It pays to have a watch that glows in the dark. | Itazura na Kiss [イタズラなKiss]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Standard "Boy meets Girl, Boy hates Girl, Boy eventually loves Girl". The only reason to watch this is Aiko Sato, who I thought was great! | Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de [いつか陽のあたる場所で]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A lot better than I expected! Iijima and Aya both excellent!! |
Itsuka mata aeru [いつかまた逢える]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another (or was it one of the first?) high school friends meet years later. Not bad, in fact the cast was very good, but not great either. | Jigoku no Sata mo Yome Shidai [地獄の沙汰もヨメ次第]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
A remake of "Double Kitchen" and they should have remembered the rule, "NEVER do a remake of a classic" | Jigoku Shoujo [地獄少女]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Just average, and not really that scary. |
Jikou Keisatsu [時効警察]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
So odd and quirky, you'd think it was produced by the BBC! Joe Odagiri makes a terrific nerd! | JIN [JIN-仁-]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Loved this drama! Great acting, interesting characters, and the open ended final leaves room for a sequel which is okay by me. | JIN Season 2
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Liked part 2 more than part 1! They did an excellent job of bringing everything full circle, dunno if I understood their explanation of time travel, but Saki's letter was a great way to end the series. |
Jinsei wa joujoda [人生は上々だ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Kimtaku is the star, but Hamada stole the show in this one. Really liked his character and he did a great job. Both he and Kimtaku worked well together. Ishida and Iijima very good as well. | Jodan Janai! [冗談じゃない！]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Pretty good cast, pretty bad drama. Oda and Iijima weren't bad, but Juri Ueno's voice was like nails on a chalkboard. | Joker Yurusarezaru Sosakan [ジョーカー 許されざる捜査官]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
It got a little muddled near the end, but overall pretty good. There were some comments about why they didn't just copy the CD. When they first discover the CD, as Nishikido is checking it out he states that it's copy protected. Just wanted to clear that up. |
Joshi Deka! [ジョシデカ！]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Yuki's done worse dramas, Gokusen 2 for example.(Talk about damning with faint praise!) | Jotei [女帝]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good. My biggest complaint was Ayaka's enemies were all so over-the-top-one-dimensional. Loved watching Leo Morimoto as a bad guy!! | Juhan Shuttai! [重版出来!]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good drama, got better as it went along, I thought Kuroki was great. My only complaint is that I thought they had too many subplots involving minor characters. If they had concentrated on just a couple artists and the editor it would have been even better. |
Jyoou no Kyoushitsu [女王の教室]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Yuki is excellent as Akutsu Sensei, and my introduction to the very talented Mirai Shida. | Kaeru no Oujo-sama [カエルの王女さま]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A real charitable 7. The musical numbers were great but the plot, which wasn't very good to begin with just got weaker and weaker as it went on. | Kaette Kita Jikou Keisatsu Season 2 [帰ってきた時効警察 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
The insanity continues!!! |
Kaito Yamaneko [怪盗山猫]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Got better as it went along. The last two episodes were the best, especially episode 9. Hiroki Nariymiya as Katsumura and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Inui were both great. | Kamisama mou sukoshi dake [神様、もう少しだけ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I believe this is the drama that created the term "cringeworthy" | Kamo, Kyoto e Iku. [鴨、京都へ行く。]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty standard stuff. Nao Matsushita takes over her late Mothers' Inn, thinks it will be a snap, finds out the hard way it isn't. It wasn't bad, but not great either. |
Kamogawa Shokudo [鴨川食堂]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice, short little drama about Kamogawa restaurant and the special dishes they create for their various customers. | Kanata no Ko [かなたの子]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice little four episode drama. Although the two middle episodes were really filler, the first and last episodes were the best. | Kangoku no Ohimesama [監獄のお姫さま]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Couple of my favorites here, Miho Kanno and Hikari Mitsushima. Good drama, but jumps around a lot, lots of flashbacks and after awhile I was saying, "Let's just get on with it!" |
Kanryotachi no Natsu [官僚たちの夏]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A drama about the rebuilding of Japan's economy after WWII. The actors were all fine, but there was no sense of drama or conflict. Bureaucrats have necessary but boring jobs and I don't think you could make an interesting drama about them. | Kao [顔]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
Odagiri Joe a little over the top but Yukie and Kotomi Kyono were very good. | Kare, Otto, Otoko Tomodachi [カレ、夫、男友達]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Maki was excellent!! Great supporting cast as well! I thought some of the domestic violence scenes went a little over the top, but still, much better than how they did it with "Last Friends". Then again, unlike "Last Friends" this drama has real actors. |
Karei naru Ichizoku [華麗なる一族]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Kimura does it again!!! Special mention to Kyoka Suzuki, great as an absolute b-i-a-t-c-h!! | Kaseifu no Mita [家政婦のミタ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nanako does her best work since, , , well, maybe ever. It does drag some in the middle episodes, but once it starts to show why Mita is the way she is it comes back. I would have rated this higher but the character of the father is such an irritating candy ass, I can't believe somebody like him ever got married in the first place! Good job also by Saki Aibu and Miyu Honda. | Kasuka na Kanojo [幽かな彼女]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Some good actors here, Anne, Miki Maya, Jiro Sato provides some comic relief. But this drama didn't have a ghost of a chance (pun intended). The high point (another pun intended) for me was Maeda Atusko's hemlines on her skirts. If teachers had dressed like that when I went to school, my grades might not have been better, but my attendance would have been perfect. |
Kaze no Garden [風のガーデン]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The terminal illness plot has been done so many times, and there's really not that much new here. But based on the perfomances of Ryunosuke Kamiki and Ken Ogata, giving this an 8. | Kaze no Haruka [風のハルカ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The country/restaurant setting reminded me of an earlier asadora "Honmamon". Unfortunately, Eri Murakawa is no Chizuru Ikewaki. Great supporting cast though. | Kazoku Hotei [家族法廷]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
There is no real plot, each episode involves a problem the family has to solve. Sometimes it got a little too sentimental (they are Japanese) but still it was pretty good. |
Kazoku no Katachi [家族ノカタチ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Sort of a mash up between "Kekkon Dekinai Otoko" and "Saigo Kara Nibanme" with the old terminal illness cliche thrown in. It might have worked better if either of the lead characters had any redeeming personality traits. | Kazoku no Uta [家族のうた]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Odagiri Joe plays a has-been star. If he's in many more dramas as bad as this one, he might find himself in the real thing. | Keibuho Sugiyama Shintaro [警部補・杉山真太郎~吉祥寺署事件ファイル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The actors weren't bad, in fact Miyu Honda was great (where do they keep coming up with these great kid actors?!) but the drama itself was pretty standard, just average. |
Keibuho Yabe Kenzo [警部補 矢部謙三]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Pretty disappointing. No real character development, nothing new that we didn't already know from "Trick". Sometimes a spin-off works, and sometimes it doesn't. This time it doesn't. | Keiji Yugami [刑事ゆがみ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Both leads were very good and some good guest stars as well. Just wish the cases had been more interesting. | Keishicho Zero Gakari ~ Seikatsu Anzenka Nandemo Soudanshitsu [警視庁ゼロ係 ~ 生活安全課なんでも相談室]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
With dramas like "Engine", "Gift", and "Fushin no Toki", Yuki Matsuhita has been in several good dramas. This is not one of them. |
Keizoku [ケイゾク]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The cases in the middle third weren't that hard to figure out, but from episode 8 on it was excellent. Watabe and Nakatani made a great pair! | Kekkon Dekinai Otoko [結婚できない男]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Loved this drama! Great story, perfect cast, outstanding performances all the way across the board! Highly recommended!!! | Kekkon Shinai [結婚しない]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Another will I/won't I ever get married soap opera. Emphasis on soap opera. It aggravates me that Miho Kanno wastes her talent on stuff like this. |
Kekkonshiki no Zenjitsu ni [結婚式の前日に]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
If you've never seen a drama with the "serious illness" scenario watch this one and you'll never need to watch one again. It had every cliche, every stereotype. Had they spent as much time writing a believable story as they did on the collage shown in the last episode they might have come up with something good. | Kibougaoka no Hitobito [希望ヶ丘の人びと]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay, but at only five episodes, they really had to jam everything together as far as plot and character development. | Kimi ga boku wo wasuretemo
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
You could pretty much see where this drama was headed after episode 1. But that doesn't mean it was bad, in fact Nagasaku and Ogata were very good. Good supporting cast as well led by Leo Morimoto, Shigeru Muroi, and Yoshie Ichige. |
Kimi ga Kokoro ni Sumitsuita [きみが心に棲みついた]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Osamu Mukai plays a character you can't like and Riho Yoshioka can't act. Other than that, , , | Kimi ga uso o tsuita [君が嘘をついた]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The standard "people pretending to be something they're not", but boy, this cast, really made it work!! | Kimi to ita mirai no tame ni ~ airu bi bakku [?N???]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
"If you could go back and live your life over again" plot. But with a real interesting twist. |
Kinkyu Torishirabeshitsu [緊急取調室]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
After the first episode it looked like this would be another over the top, overacting detective drama. But it settled down after that and was going pretty good but for some reason they stopped at nine episodes so the ending felt rushed that's why I only gave it a 7. | Kinkyu Torishirabeshitsu Season 2 [緊急取調室 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than the first season. | Kira kira hikaru [きらきらひかる/法醫物語]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Given the cast, pretty disappointing. The only thing that kept me watching was to see how the subplot between Suzuki and Shinohara played out, and you could see that the first ten minutes of episode 9. |
Kirakira Kenshui [きらきら研修医]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
One point each for Manami Konishi, Katsuhisa Namase, Papaya Suzuki and Ryo. They should get some reward for having to appear in this fiasco! | Kirawareru Yuuki [嫌われる勇気]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected. Most of the cases were interesting with the occasional twist thrown in. | Kisarazu Cat's Eye [木更津キャッツアイ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Funny, well written, good cast, and the most creative use of flashbacks I've ever seen. |
Kita no Kuni Kara [北の国から]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Took forever to finish this one. 24 episodes way too long and having grown up in South Dakota which is cold and remote just like Hokkaido, I know it's not nearly as romantic to live in a place like that as they make it out to be. | Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho [こちら本池上署]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice little drama/comedy about unorthodox Chief Keisuke and his staff as they go about solving crimes. | Kodoku no Gurume [孤独のグルメ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
There's really no plot to this. At least none that I could figure out, just Matsushige going from place to place eating. The dishes all looked great and it was nice to see Matsushige cast as something besides his usual thug/yakuza role. |
Kodoku no Gurume Season 2 [孤独のグルメ 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I liked this season better than the first one, possibly because I knew what to expect now. It's also fun at the end when they show the real shop owners. | Kodomo ga neta ato de
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice comedy. Good work by the cast led by Shibata and Yamaguchi. | Koi ni Ochitara ~Boku no Seikou no Himitsu~ [恋におちたら〜僕の成功の秘密〜]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Your standard little/poor guy vs. powerful/rich guy scenario. Nothing really new here. |
Koi no bakansu [恋のバカンス]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Akashiya hilarious walking a tightrope between three different women! Anju Suzuki is easy to overlook, but I thought she was great as well. | Koi no kiseki
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Kanno very good as the bad girl. | Koi no tamerai [恋のためらい]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice little drama. Takenaka and Otake were great! |
Koibito yo [恋人よ]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
The four main actors (Honami Suzuki, Goro Kishitani, Kyoko Suzuki, Koichi Sato) are so good together, they really make this work. And check out a young Tomoya Nagase and Miki Mizuno just starting out. | Kokoro [こころ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Ito Ran can act, Noriko Nakagoshi can't. | Kokoro ga Pokitto ne [心がポキッとね]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The cast was very good, in fact, Abe was excellent! But it seemed like the writer wasn't sure where he wanted to go with this. The actors did their best with what they had to work with. |
Konna koi no hanashi [こんな恋のはなし]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Well done by a real stong cast, big thumbs up to Koji Tamaki. | Kono Koe wo Kimi ni [この声をきみに]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Didn't think you could make a boring drama with Takenouchi and Mimura, but they did. | Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni [この世界の片隅に]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice, short drama about one woman's experiences before and during WWII. Yuka was great as Rin!! |
Koori no sekai [冰の世界]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
What could have been a really great mystery ruined by the most unbelivable, implausible ending I've seen in a looooong time. A charitable 7. | Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen! [これは経費で落ちません!]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected. Mikako Tabe, who I have liked ever since "Yasuko to Kenji" very good once again. | Koumei Ga Tsuji [功名が辻]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
After a just average "Shinsengumi' in 2004 and a disaster with "Yoshitsune" last year NHK tried to catch lightning in a bottle again and went with a knock off of "Toshiie to Matsu". However, Yankumi ain't Nanako and Kamikawa ain't Karasawa. The best characters were Akira Emoto as Hideyoshi and Toshiyuki Nishida (great as usual!) as Tokugawa. Also, special mention to Hiromi Nagasaku, totally evil as Yodo! |
Kuitan [喰いタン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty good drama, great cast, the plots were sometimes over-the-top, but it worked! | Kuitan Season 2 [喰いタン 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The second helping is even better than the first!!! | Kuroi Junin no Onna [黒い十人の女]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The guy with several girl friends, trying to juggle them all scenario. But in a nice twist, told from the viewpoint of the women. I thought Miki Mizuno was hilarious as possibly the worst stage actress ever. |
Kurumi no Heya [胡桃の部屋]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad. I liked the storylines between Matsushita and Harada and Igawa and Kobayashi the best. Set in the '80s it confirmed something I've been thinking about for a long time. The world would be a better place if there were no more cell phones!! | Kuu Neru Futari Sumu Futari [喰う寝るふたり 住むふたり]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Fluff. Not much substance. Konishi was very good. Her boyfriend was played by Nobuaki Kaneko also the drummer in the band RIZE. I'm not saying he's a bad actor, but if I were him, I wouldn't be trading in my drumsticks anytime soon. | Kyousoukyoku [協奏曲]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The love story is secondary. This is really a variation on "A Star is Born". Tamura in the Frederic March role and Kimura in the Janet Gaynor role. |
Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji Season 3 [救命病棟２４時 3]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
3rd in the series, but not your typical hospital drama. Good cast and good story. | Last Christmas [ラストクリスマス]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Oda is great as expected and I'll watch anything with Ryo in it. Special mention to Tsuyoshi Ihara, he was excellent. | Last Cinderella [ラスト シンデレラ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
It's probably not as bad as I thought it was. Shinohara fans will like it, though. |
Last Friends [ラスト・フレンズ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Watching this I was a prisoner of crap. | Legal High [リーガル・ハイ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The first 5 episodes, I hated it. Sakai was too over the top. But starting with episode 6 it got a lot better, although my basic reaction is the same as Aragaki's, "What the hell was that??" | Liar Game [ライアーゲーム]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
If you can buy into the whole concept of the "Liar Game", you'll probably like it. I couldn't, so I didn't. |
Lipstick [リップスティック]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Just passable. Would have been better if they had eliminated the parts about the boys side altogether and cut it down to 9 or 10 episodes. | Long Goodbye [ロング・グッドバイ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
They did a great job transferring the original setting of post-war Los Angeles to post-war Tokyo and remained pretty much true to the novel. Real good job by all the actors, loved the atmosphere and mood of this drama. | Long vacation [ロングバケーション]
Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched)
Best Drama Ever!!! |
Love generation [ラブジェネレーション]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
My favorite role of Takako Matsu's, but all those mis-communications got to be a bit much after awhile. | Love Shuffle [ラブシャッフル]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great writing, great cast, really good drama. YAY PANDA!!! | Lucky Seven [ラッキーセブン]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
After "Kaseifu no Mita", Nanako wanted to something pointless and stupid. After "Soredemo Ikite", Eita wanted to do something pointless and stupid. So here we are. |
Lunch no Joou [ランチの女王]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Good cast, but, I dunno, something was missing, could have been better. | M no Higeki [Ｍの悲劇]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great plot and excellent performances from all the cast (even Goro!!). | Mada Koi wa Hajimaranai [まだ恋は始まらない]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice love story, outstanding cast!! |
Madonna Verde [マドンナ・ヴェルデ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Probably more like 7.5. Interesting topic, good job by all the actors, Nagatsuka Kyozo was great! They had a couple subplots that detracted from the main story line especially in a short drama like this one. Would have been better if they had concentrated solely on the surrogacy issue. | Magerarenai Onna [曲げられない女]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Real good drama! Kanno, Nagasaku, and Tanihara were all great (although Kanno's screaming got to be a bit much sometimes).
I would really like to see Kanno and Nagasaku work together again. | Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi [まほろ駅前番外地]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Eita and Matsuda working together, Matsuda great as a slacker/stoner. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, sometimes downright weird. |
Mama wa aidoru [ママはアイドル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
In an interesting bit of casting, Miho Nakayama plays herself. Hugely popular when it originally aired, I thought it was good, but not great. | Manhattan Love Story [マンハッタン ラブストーリー]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
This drama was written by the same guy that wrote IGWP and T & D, two other dramas that a lot of people liked that I hated. It's the same case here. I just don't get it. | Mare [まれ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
One of the best supporting casts ever in an asadora but unfortunately that is more than offset by Yo Oizumi who is always the same regardless of what his character is supposed to be and Tao Tsuchiya who gives the worst performance by an asadora heroine since Noriko Nakagoshi in "Kokoro". |
Marks no Yama [マークスの山]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Liked this drama a lot, a little 5 episode drama that has a better cast than some taigas! | Marumaru Tsuma [○○妻]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
An 8 might be too high. Kou and Kuroki were great, the rest of the cast not so much. The plot would wander sometimes, the ending, while predictable was very well done. | Marumo no Okite [マルモのおきて]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Two little kids, a talking dog, and Sadao Abe, who I have NEVER liked, not in Kokoro, not in IWGP, not in T & D, never! Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?
But boy,I really liked this drama. Abe was great as Marumo! I can't think of anybody else that could have played that role! Much like I always relate Sorimachi to Onizuka and Eguchi to Tatsuya in "Hitotsu Yane", from now on I am going to think of Abe as Marumo. I don't know how the awards system for actors works in Japan, but he should definitely get something for this! |
Medaka [めだか]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Mimura dazzles!!! If GTO is the #1 high school drama, Medaka is #1-A. | Mei-chan no Shitsuji [メイちゃんの執事]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
This is definitely a guility pleasure. You're asking yourself, "Why am I watching this?!!?" But you keep watching. In fact, it's pretty stupid and unbelievable at times, but it was entertaining and I guess that's what counts most. | Men Who Want To Get Married [結婚したい男たち]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The main actors were all very good, but I especially liked Tsurutaro Kataoka. |
Mikazuki [みかづき]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Combination family drama/school drama. Issei Takahashi was good, but Hiromi Nagasaku really shines in this one. | Mikeneko Holmes no Suiri [三毛猫ホームズの推理]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The cases weren't that bad but the whole idea of a talking cat (that sometimes turns into a janitor), I just couldn't buy into it. If they'd made it like a normal detective drama I probably would have liked it more. | Minshuu no Teki ~ Yo no Naka, Okashikunai desu ka!? [ 民衆の敵 ~ 世の中、おかしくないですか!?]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
If the writer had spent as much time trying to write a believable story as was spent on actors breaking out of character and trying to be cute with the audience, it might have been a halfway decent drama. |
Miporin no Ekubo [みぽりんのえくぼ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Standard terminal illness tear-jerker, nothing new to see here. | Mirai Koshi Meguru [未来講師めぐる]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Dumb, but sometimes dumb can be good. | Mondai no Aru Restaurant [問題のあるレストラン]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Pointless fluff at it's most pointless. Maki deserves better. |
Mop Girl [モップガール]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Much better than I expected! Kitagawa very good in her first leading role, but the big surprise was Shosuke Tanihara in a complete change from his usual character. Good supporting cast lead by Jiro Sato, another in a longl line of underappreciated supporting actors. | Moteki [モテキ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Way better than I expected! Funny and realistic with an excellent cast. Moriyama perfect as Yukio and the four women, Nonami, Mitsushima, Matsumoto and Kikuchi were great. Mitsushima stood out more than the others IMO. | Mother
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Best drama of 2010! Excellent script and great performances by all the cast. |
Mother Game [マザー･ゲーム]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kimura was very good but the plot was just a variation on "middle class people might not have a lot of money or stuff but they're basically happy and content while rich people may have fancy houses, cars and lots of money but they're really miserable underneath it all." | Mottomo Toi Ginga [最も遠い銀河]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A real good cast wades thru one of the most confusing plots ever. And the final scene at the cemetery is roll your eyes bad. Pretty much a waste of time. | Mou Ichido Kimi ni, Propose [もう一度君に、プロポーズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad, but not anything special either. And the ending was pretty weak. |
Mouri Motonari [毛利元就]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
This was made before NHK decided they had to have a "star" as lead in their taigas. Here it's played by Hashinosuke Nakamura a well known kabuki actor who's only had a handful of television and movie appearances. He is great. Alongside is an excellent supporting cast that all give solid performances.
This is one of the few taigas that I didn't have to bounce back and forth when different characters appeared and say, "Who's this guy again?" I attribute that to the excellent script written by Makiko Uchidate. All the characters are distinct and the story is told in a way that made it easy to follow.
All in all, great actors + excellent writing = Outstanding taiga! | MOZU ~ Mozu no Sakebu Yoru ~ [MOZU ~ 百舌の叫ぶ夜 ~]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A charitable 7. Well done but too much over the top violence, very slow pace. It doesn't start to make any sense until episode 6 and even then there's a lot of unanswered questions. Hiroki Hasegawa was great as Higashi though. | MOZU Season 2 ~ Maboroshi no Tsubasa ~ [MOZU 2 ~ 幻の翼 ~]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Maybe a little better than "MOZU". Still dark and depressing. Not to mention confusing. Which Shingai was a boy that became a girl again? Plus the three leads, Nishijima, Kagawa, and Maki aren't really likeable. When their issues are resolved it was like, so what, who cares? |
MR. BRAIN
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Lots of fancy graphics, lots of high-powered guest stars, but with the exception of the two episodes with Yuki, they didn't include a decent script to go along with it. | Muri na Renai [無理な恋愛]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A nice, sweet little drama. Sakai was great and Yui gave her usual solid performance, but my favorite scenes were the ones between Yui and Sawa Suzuki as two actresses for whom "Been there, done that" really applies. | Musashi [武蔵]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
It does run too long, but I really liked this taiga. Everybody talks about Ichikawa as Musashi, and while I thought he was okay, I really liked Tsutsumi Shinichi as Matahachi, he was outstanding!! As with most taigas, the rest of the supporting cast was excellent as well. |
My Boss, My Hero [マイボスマイヒロ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The first two episodes were way too over the top for me, but after that it settled down, pretty good after that. | My Little Chef
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Got off to a REAL slow start, after episode 4 I was wondering if I could finish it. But then, with episode 5, things started to come together and I ended up liking it a lot. "My Little Chef" is a nice little drama. | Myu no Anyo Papa ni Ageru [みゅうの足パパにあげる]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A young father with a crippling disease fights to overcome it with the help of his wife (Karina) and stereotypical cute-as-a-button daughter (Rina Hatakeyama). The actors do their best with a typical "ganbatte" type story. |
N no Tameni [Nのために]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
While the fanboys were off watching "Doctor X" this one slipped under the radar. Very good drama. Realistic, believable characters. Good job by all the actors. Special mention to Nana Eikura, she was outstanding. My only complaint is that they brought in the old "terminal illness" cliche which I thought was totally unnecessary. | Naguru Onna [殴る女]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty standard boxing drama but Wakui was great and an excellent supporting cast as well. | Naka nai to Kimeta Hi [泣かないと決めた日]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
I decided to START crying about halfway thru episode 1 when it became obvious what a piece of crap this is!! Fortunately, it's just eight episodes, so I only wasted eight hours of my life instead of the usual ten or eleven. |
Namae o Nakushita Megami [名前をなくした女神]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Some of my favorite actresses here: Anne, Machiko Ono, Ryo, Yoshino Kimura. Unfortunately they're stuck in one of my least favorite scenarios, the "new family moves into the neighborhood from hell". The actors all were good, I just couldn't get into the plot. | Namida o fuite [涙をふいて]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Eguchi plays basically the same character he did in "Hitotsu Yane" only even more over the top and this time he's not related to the kids. Uchida never looked better. | Namonaki Doku [名もなき毒]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
This drama is basically split in two parts and you know it's a bad sign when it gets worse AFTER Kyoko Fukada leaves. |
Naniwa kin yu do [ナニワ金融道]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The drama that dispels the rumor that all Japanese are frugal with their money and never get in a bind financially. | Nankyoku Tairiku ~Kami no Ryouiki ni Idomunda Otoko to Inu no Monogatari~ [南極大陸〜神の領域に挑んだ男と犬の物語〜]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Would have been better if they had cut a lot of the melodrama out of the first two episodes. It was much better once they got to Antartica. But the real stars of this drama were the dogs! | Napoleon no Mura! [ナポレオンの村]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Government worker (Karasawa) tries to revitalize a declining village. Big dilemma every episode, the size of which is determined by the amount of overacting needed to solve it. |
Narita Rikon [成田離婚]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sometimes funny, sometimes touching. Kusanagi is a very underrated actor. Good job by the supporting cast as well. | Naruyouni Narusa [なるようになるさ。]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Asano and Tachi's kids have all moved out, she opens a restaurant, they hire 3 people with some problems, the problems are solved, everybody lives happily ever after. I just saved you 11 hours of your life. You might want to fast forward to the last minute of each episode where they show a recipe, that was more interesting than the drama. | Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku [夏の恋は虹色に輝く]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
In a classic case of art imitating life, Jun Matsumoto plays an actor that can't act. Yuko great as always. |
Natsuzora [なつぞら]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty much standard asadora scenario. Young woman overcomes adversities to realize her dream. As an added bonus the cast includes Nanako Matsushima AND Tomoko Yamaguchi! | Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de [謎解きはディナーのあとで]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
They couldn't decide if they should make a detective drama for fangirls or a detective drama for fanboys. So they made one for both. | Neko Zamurai [猫侍]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
When I first heard about this drama I thought it's either going to be very good or very bad. Turned out to be very good. Kazuki Kitamura was great as a samurai assigned to kill a cat but turns out taking care of him. Good supporting cast, I especially liked Kaori Takahashi as the cat shop owner. |
Neko Zamurai Season 2 [猫侍2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Because I now knew the premise I liked the second season better than the first. Some new characters were brought in, but they fit in just fine. Kirubeshi!! | Nemureru mori [眠れる森]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
One of the better mystery dramas. Great script, Kimura, Miho Nakayama, Toru Nakamura, Jinnai Takanori and Yusuke Sanatamaria all very good. | Nevertheless, I Bought a House [それでも家を買いました]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
With that title, I thought it would be a comedy, but it isn't. It's more about a young couple starting out. Not bad, Mikami and Tanaka worked well together, good supporting cast also, especially Hitomi Takahashi. |
News no onna [ニュースの女]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Honami Suzuki, a great story, and a superb supporting cast!! (Especially Kyozo Nagatsuka, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, and Norika Fujiwara) | Nigeru Onna [逃げる女]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty dark and depressing. There's a subplot involving the section chief that's a complete waste of time and questions about the Azumi character that never get answered.
But Riisa Naka gives an outstanding performance as a psycho/wack-job. | Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo [日本人の知らない日本語]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I did learn a few things about the Japanese language I didn't know before, but this has one of the worst casts ever! I think they got the foreign "actors" off of a tour bus and the real Japanese actors weren't a whole lot better. |
Ningen no Shoumei [人間の証明]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great police drama, second only to Odoru Daisousasen. And probably my favorite Yutaka drama of all. | Ninkyo Helper [任侠ヘルパー]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Mediocre melodrama. | Nobunaga [信長]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay. Naoto Ogata was kind of weak as Nobunaga, but Hira Mikijiro was great as Zuiten!! |
Nobuta wo Produce [野ブタ。をプロデュース]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great drama about friendship. Excellent performances from Horikita and Yamashita. Horikita's Nobuta is an unforgettable character. | Nodame Cantabile [のだめ カンタビ−レ]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
More like "Nodame Terrible", everything is so over the top it's ludicrous. I didn't believe any of this for one second. This drama has a song in it called "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying". Very appropriate. | Non Mama Hakusho [ノンママ白書]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Even Honami Suzuki fans might have a hard time finishing this one. |
Ns' Aoi [Ns’ あおい ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty standard plot. Toshiro Yanagiba stands out most from the cast. | Nyokei Kazoku [女系家族]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A dorama version of "Dallas" except EVERYBODY was as evil as J.R!!! | Odoru Daisousasen [踊る大捜査線]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
The best police drama ever!! Perfect cast, perfect writing. Highly recommended!!! |
Ofukou-san [おふこうさん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Probably the goofiest drama I've ever seen. As long as you don't take it seriously or try to get anything out of it you'll be okay. Kanjiya very good as usual. | Ohisama [おひさま]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
I liked the arc of the story going from pre-war thru to post-war Japan.Cast was okay, nothing great though. It got better ratings than "Gegege no Nyobo". IMO "Gegege, , ," is a much better drama. | Ohitorisama [おひとりさま]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Even with Arisa, Matsushita, and Maya, not enough substance here to really recommend it. |
Ohsama no resutoran [王樣のレストラン]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Great performances by an outstanding cast take a little above average storyline and turn this into the best restaurant drama ever! �f���炵�� !!! | Oishii Kankei [おいしい關係]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Possibly the most boring drama ever. The two leads were so stiff I thought I was at a funeral home. | Oishii puropozu [おいしいプロポーズ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Got off to a good start, tailed off in the middle and never recovered |
Okane ga nai! [お金がない！]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Probably my favorite Yuji Oda drama after Odoru Daisousasen and my favorite office drama after "Shomuni". | Okashi no Ie [おかしの家]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice little drama about Odagiri Joe and his grandmother's candy store and where life takes you. | Omiai kekkon [お見合い結婚]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great script, excellent supporting cast and Matsu is irresistble!!! |
Omoide ni kawaru made
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Two sisters (Imai and Matsushita) one guy (Ishida) and assorted subplots. Not bad but nothing really special. | Omoshiro Nankyoku Ryorinin
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
It had it's moments, just not enough of them. In 2009 Masato Sakai made a movie "Nankyoku Ryorinin". Watch that instead. | Onegai demon!
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Very strange, but fun. They didn't take themselves too seriously, if they had it never would have worked. |
Onna Joshu Naotora [おんな城主 直虎]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Of all the taigas with a female lead this one is easily the best. The big surprise for me was Yuya Yagira as Ryuun Maru, he was very good. | Ooku [大奥]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Talk about political games, lies, and backstabbing!! These ladies could teach Nixon some lessons!! Loved all the costumes as well. | Ooku Dai-ishou [大奧第一章]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Really well done! I've always been a fan of Yuki Matsushita and she was excellent in this. |
Orange Days [オレンジデイズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
I dunno, I thought this drama was overrated. It's the same stuff Kitagawa has covered in other dramas (most notably Aishiteiru to itte kure) with just a few tweaks. | Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai [俺の話は長い]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Real good family drama. The discussions/arguments were hilarious, especially trying to follow Mitsuru's screwball logic. | Oregon Kara Ai [オレゴンから愛]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Real nice family drama. Although the love story subplot between Teraizumi, Ran, and Hiraizumi was more a distraction than anything else. |
Osen [おせん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Other than Aoi Yuu's wise beyond her years okami, pretty average drama. | Oshin [おしん]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
The "Citizen Kane" of asadoras. Too bad the characters are fictional, this would make a great Taiga. | Osozaki no Himawari [遅咲きのヒマワリ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Maybe an 8 is too high. But I really liked it and it was nice seeing real actors instead of some fanboy/fangirl fluff. |
Otasukeya Jinpachi [お助けや☆陳八]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Every episode is basically the same. Someone gets in trouble and the good guys (Miyagawa, Koizumi, and Yamasaki) bail them out. Miyagawa's nerdy rickshaw driver and Yamasaki's leather jacketed geisha kind of grew on me. | Otoko Meshi [侠飯 ~ おとこめし]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Light entertainment, if something involving yakuza can be light. Katsuhisa Namase plays a yakuza boss hiding out in Tokio Emoto's apartment. Emoto was very good as the job seeking college grad, always a little bit slow figuring things out. Nice twist at the end, and some nice eats too! | Otome no Punch [乙女のパンチ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Shizuyo Yamasaki has a sweet innocence about her character, but thats the only thing I can really recommend about this drama. |
Otomen [オトメン(乙男)]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
Just when you thought they couldn't possibly come up with anything more inane or moronic, they fool you again!! | OUR HOUSE ~ Watashitachi no Ie [OUR HOUSE ~ わたしたちのいえ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Mana Ashida shows that she can even play a selfish brat, something that, as far as I can remember, she hasn't done before. As for the drama itself, it was just average at best. | Ouroboros [ウロボロス]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
More like 8.5. Excellent plot, really keeps you guessing. |
Out ~ tsumatachi no hanzai [OUT ~妻たちの犯罪~]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The actors were all very good, especially Tanaka and Iijima. Would have rated it higher but the ending was kind of open and left you wondering. | Over Time [オーバー・タイム]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Another great one from Eriko Kitagawa, Esumi and Sorimachi were great together, special mention to Kippei Shiina and Yuriko Ishida. | Owakon TV [おわこんＴＶ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good little drama. The cast were all very good especially Sonny Chiba as the company president. |
Oyaji no Senaka [おやじの背中]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Episodes 1, 3, 7, 8, and 9 were the best. The rest mostly just okay. | Oyaji~ [オヤジぃ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great family drama. Everybody talks about Tamura, Kuroki, Hirosue, Mizuno, and Okada and they were very good, but I want to make special mention of Shin Yazawa as Sumika and Koji Kato as Goro. They were excellent! | Pandora [パンドラ]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Grand prize winner 1st Tokyo Drama Awards and deservedly so, an excellent drama all the way around. |
Pandora IV ~ AI Sensou
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
More like 7.5. Good cast, good story, just wish they had gone into a little more detail on the AI and how it worked (or didn't). | Pandora Season 2: Kiga Retto [パンドラII 飢餓列島]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not quite as good as the first "Pandora". This one was a variation on the old "Man should not play God" theme. But still very entertaining with good performances. | Perfect love [パーフェクトラブ！]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good romantic drama. Kimura was great, Fukuyama was okay, but he's no Kimtaku. |
Peter no Soretsu [ペテロの葬列]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Last year there was a not very good drama called "Namonaki Doku". For some idiotic reason someone decided to bring most of the cast back and do it again. This was the most pointless, confusing drama I've seen in a long time. And to make it worse at the end of the final episode it says, "to be continued". Count me out. | Platonic [プラトニック]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The terminal illness scenario is one that's never really appealed to me, and while this isn't a bad drama, nothing happened here to change my opinion. | PRICELESS ~Aru Wake Nedaro,n namon!~ [PRICELESS ~あるわけねぇだろ,んなもん!~]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Granted this is the character Kimtaku is always best at, but after "Mr. Brain" and "Moon Lovers" it was good to see him in something very good. Really liked Karina and Nakai as well as his partners. |
Pride [プライド]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Had me hooked until the last episode which was too long and drawn out. | Pro Golfer Hana [プロゴルファー花]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
A better title would have been "Golf through the eyes of an 8 year old" because that's the level this script was directed at. Too bad because Rosa Kato is sweet, Ken Ishiguro does his best as usual and Jiro Sato does provide some comic relief. But pretty unbelievable and overall pretty bad. | Psychometrer eiji 1
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Some of the blood and gore was a little over the top for me, but overall it was pretty good. Toshiya Nagasawa was great as the head of the detectives. |
Quartet [カルテット]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It wasn't bad, but when you have talent like Matsu, Matsuda, Mitsushima, and the writer is Yuji Sakamoto who has written dramas like "Mother" and "Soredemo, ikite", I was expecting more. Overall, somewhat disappointing. | Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san [ラーメン大好き小泉さん]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
The only redeeming point of this "drama" is that showed actual ramen restaurants. As for the "plot" and "acting", I've seen episodes of NHK's "Dining With the Chef" that were more interesting. | Rasuto Purezento [ラストプレゼント 〜娘と生きる最後の夏〜]
Rating: 6/10 (Bought & Watched)
Yuki and a pretty good cast (especially Hiromi Nagasaku) wade thru a predictable plot. |
Regatta [レガッタ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
If you feel that your life will not be complete unless you've seen everything done by Saki Aibu, then you should watch this. Otherwise, forget it. | Rikon Bengoshi [離婚弁護士]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Good cast that worked well together. The "guest stars" for each episode were usually very good, but episode 8 with Naho Toda is worth the price of admission all by itself. | Rikon Bengoshi Season 2 [離婚弁護士II〜ハンサム ウーマン〜]
Rating: 6/10 (Bought & Watched)
Another sequel not nearly as good as the original. Why can't they learn from the people that made Shomuni and when they have something good going, just leave it alone?!!? |
Rikuou [陸王]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Written by the same guys that wrote "Hanzawa Naoki" and "Shitamachi Rocket". Same scenario. Little guy against the odds and overcoming many obstacles succeeds. If you saw either of those dramas, you saw this one. | Ring: Saishusho [リング 最終章]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Got off to a great start, but kind of dragged at the end. | Risou no kekkon [理想の結婚]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The first episode is pretty cheesy, from the instant proposal to the food fight at the end. But after that it's pretty good. The real stars are Yoko Nogiwa and Tamao Nakamura as the two mothers. They were hilarious! |
River's Edge Ookawabata Tanteisha [リバースエッジ 大川端探偵社]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Typical Odagiri Joe weirdness. If you're a fan of his you're going to like it. If you're not your going to say, "What the hell was that all about?!" and hate it. | Rocket boy [ロケット・ボーイ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice, short, little drama. Great work by the cast which also includes Risa Sudo and Kotomi Kyono. | ROOKIES [ルーキーズ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Typical high school idealist teacher/bad students drama only watched this one to see how Ryuta Sato did in a lead role, otherwise, it's pretty lame. |
ROOM OF KING
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Started off good but then lost its steam and if I weren't a big fan of Anne Suzuki I probably couldn't have finished it. | Roosevelt Game [ルーズヴェルト・ゲーム]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Written by the same guy that wrote "Hanzawa Naoki" only instead of Sakai trying to save a bank we have Karasawa trying to save his company. Same screaming, yelling, rolling eyes, foaming at the mouth overacting as before. | Runway 24 [ランウェイ24]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Standard airline drama with standard airline drama scenarios. Although I'm sure Peach Airlines (that's a real airline, not one made up for the drama) appreciated all the free advertising. |
Ruri no shima [瑠璃の島]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Another very underrated drama. They say it didn't get very good ratings, if that's the case, a lot of people missed the boat on this one. | Ryoma Den [龍馬伝]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Another case of a "star" in the lead instead of a real actor. This taiga may be remembered as the "great actresses" taiga. In addition to Yoko Maki, you've got Mitsuko Baisho, Shinobu Terajima, Kimiko Yo, and Aoi Yu all giving great performances.
Also special mention to Nao Omori as Takechi Hanpeita, Munetaka Aoki as Shojiro Goto, and Taizo Harada as Kondo Isami. | Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi [最後から二番目の恋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sort of a cross between "Kekkon dekinai" and "Around 40". Nakai was great and I really liked Iijima and Uchida, but for some reason Koizumi's character kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It was still a very enjoyable drama. |
Saikou no Rikon [最高の離婚]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
It was good, there were times when it was very good. But they went for the safe ending which left me disappointed. | Sailor Fuku to Kikanju [セーラー服と機関銃]
Rating: 2/10 (Watched)
Is this the worst drama ever made? Hard to say, but it should definitely be on everybody's short list. | Saisei no Machi [再生の町]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay. Average political drama. |
Saito-san [斉藤さん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty standard plot, but a must see for Mimura fans. | Saka no Ue no Kumo [坂の上の雲]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Liked the parts having to do with Kagawa and Kanno best. Great graphics for the battle scenes but they never did clearly explain why the war got started. I kept asking myself, "Why are these people killing each other?" Abe, Matsu, and Ishihara's talents completely wasted. | Saki ~ Mitsuketa. Anata no Kowashikata. [サキ ~ 見ぃつけた。あなたの壊し方。]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
In spite of, or maybe because of Yukie's natural sweetness, she's very good at these creepy characters. Her turn in "Mr. Brain" was far and away the best part of that drama. But the plot here didn't do anything special so can't rate it higher. |
Samurai Gourmet [野武士のグルメ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Same setup as Koduko no Gurume but I liked this better. Episode storylines more interesting and Takenaka's character better than Matsushige's. | Samurai High School [サムライ・ハイスクール]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Miura was great!! And special mention to Yu Shirota as his trusty sidekick!! | Samurai Sensei [サムライせんせい]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
I don't know why this is classified as a comedy, it does have its funny parts, but for the most part this drama takes itself pretty seriously. Which is probably why, even though I'm not a big fan of Nishikido, I liked it more than I thought I would. |
Sanada Maru [真田丸]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Probably more like 7.5. Sakai was just okay as Nobushige. There were some very good performances by the supporting cast, Fumiyo Kohinata, Yuko Takeuchi to name two. Uneven storyline. Some things were given very little coverage that should have gotten more and other things less important were given a lot of coverage. | Sanbiki no Ossan [三匹のおっさん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay. 3 retirees patrol their neighborhood preventing crime. My favorite episode was episode 6 where they needed some help and couldn't do it all themselves. | Sanbiki no Ossan Season 2 ~ Seigi no Mikata, Futatabi! [三匹のおっさん2 ~ 正義の味方、ふたたび]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Same as season 1, predictable, sometimes funny, but nothing new added. |
Sapuri [サプリ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Would this have been a better drama if two of the REAL actors (Eita and Miho Shiraishi) had been the leads instead of Itoh and Kame? Probably not, but it couldn't have hurt. | Sayonara, Ozu Sensei [さよなら、小津先生]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Standard teacher takes on a class full of bad kids scenario. The only difference is Tamura isn't really a teacher but he does play his usual character (an arrogant jerk). | SCANDAL
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Liked this a lot. Good cast, especially Momoi Kaori. (Any 50-something woman that wears a "Ramones" t-shirt you gotta like, ne?) |
Scapegoat [スケープゴート]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad, but at only four episodes they tried to jam in too much. Really could have used another episode or two. | Second chance
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Tanaka good as always. Nice family drama. | Seigi no Mikata [正義の味方]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
This one got off to a slow start, but once Shida and Yamada jelled, it really took off for me. A great comedy!! |
Seikei Bijin [整形美人。]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
The drama which teaches that selfish and superficial is good. | Seikimatsu no uta [世紀末の詩]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not your usual "linear" drama with a standard plot. Nevertheless, I really liked it. | Seirei no Moribito [精霊の守り人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice change from the standard drama stuff. Fans of the fantasy genre will probably like it more than I did. |
Sekai de ichiban papa ga suki [世界で一番パパが好き]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Akashiya and Hirosue were great paired together in this. There's a fine line between sweet and touching and over sentimental and syrupy and they knew just how far to go. Good supporting cast led by Tsugawa, although sometimes they seemed kind of left out. My only real complaint is Akashiya's frothing at the mouth and screaming which went too far sometimes. | Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi [世界一難しい恋]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was just okay. Eiko Koike's character was the most interesting. That collapsing bed was a neat idea. | sekushii boisu ando robo [セクシーボイスアンドロボ]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
I liked this drama a lot. Kenichi Matsuyama is the best otaku ever, Suzuka Ohgo very good as well. This is one of those dramas that you either "get it" and think its great, or don't "get it" and think its terrible. |
sengoku Jieitai [戦国自衛隊〜関ケ原の戦い〜]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A remake of the Sonny Chiba movie "Time Slip/G.I. Samurai" I liked them both. The movie a lot more graphic, the drama had more character development. | Shabon dama
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
All the over the top violence just got to be too much. I think every male character was either beat up, stabbed, or killed at some point. Especially Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi who got the crap beat out of him every episode but would come back the next episode fresh as a daisy, ready for more. | Share House no Koibito [シェアハウスの恋人]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A better (and funnier) drama could have been made involving Mizukawa and her co-workers at the copier place. |
Shi no Zouki [死の臓器]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nice short drama about a dead body found in the forest that leads to a black market organ donor/transplant ring. Well written, good job by all the actors but no one really jumped out at me so didn't rate it higher. | Shibatora [シバトラ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected. Ohgo was very good, the weakest point was Koike Teppei. | Shika Otoko Aoniyoshi [鹿男あをによし]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
More like 7.5.This is a fantasy adventure type that Disney would make for the 9-12 year olds. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, I liked it!! |
Shin Hoshi no kinka [新・星の金貨]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Has just about every cliche in the book, but it worked for me. | Shinigami-kun [死神くん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Probably more like 7.5. When it started I thought it would be pretty standard stuff, but it got better as it went along. Not great, but not as bad as it could have been. | Shinsengumi [新撰組]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Other than Shingo Katori totally wrong for the part of Kondo Isami, one of the better casts for a taiga. However, with one of the worst scripts to work with, it's a case of "what might have been". |
Shinya Shokudo [深夜食堂]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
There's not really a plot here, each episode is about one of the customers at an all-night diner, but I liked it. | Shinya Shokudo Season 2 [深夜食堂]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Same format as season one following the customers of the Masters all-night diner. | Shinzanmono [新参者]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Really not much of a mystery, it doesn't get suspenseful until the final episode (which runs a little bit too long). Might have been better if Abe hadn't been Dr.Phil trying to solve everybody's personal problems. |
Shiroi Haru [白い春]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Would have given this a 9 if not for that ending. But still a real good drama. Great performances from Abe, Yoshitaka, and Endo Kenichi. | Shiroi kage [白い影]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
The standard terminal illness scenario. | Shiroi Kyoto [白い巨塔]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Not really a medical drama, that's just the setting. More about morality, friendship, doing what's right, not to mention bribery, corruption, and political gamesmanship. And one of the best casts ever assembled! |
Shitamachi Rocket [下町ロケット]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Written by the same guy that wrote "Naoki Hanzawa" and "Roosevelt Game". Same scenario, big guy vs. little guy, lots of betrayal and backstabbing. Also lots of overacting, screaming, and pounding on tables. If you liked the other two, you'll like this one. If not, then you won't. | Shokuzai [贖罪]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Great job by all the actors especially Chizuru Ikewaki who was one of the most cold hearted biatches I've seen in a long time. The first four episodes were great and I would have rated this higher but the last episode it turned from being a psychological thriller to just another who-dun-it. | Shomuni [ショムニ]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Just as GTO is the best of the high school genre, the Shomuni series are the best of the office politics genre |
Shomuni 2013 [ショムニ 2013]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Expecting this to be the same as the original "Shomuni" would be a mistake. Except for Esumi it's a whole new cast. It was better than I thought it would be, it definitely had it's moments. | Shomuni Final [ショムニ ファイナル/庶務二課]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Better than Shomuni 1, not quite as good as Shomuni 2, deserves a 9.25/9.5 | Shomuni Season 2 [ショムニ 2]
Rating: 10/10 (Bought & Watched)
In the tradition of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Aliens", that rarest of all creatures, a sequel that EXCEEDS the original!!! |
Shoni Kyumei [小児救命]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected, a little different than most hospital/doctor based dramas because of the emphasis just on kids. Special marks to Eriko Watanabe as the senpai sensei. | Shufu Katsu! [主婦カツ!]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Average family drama with average family drama characters, and average family drama situations. Just average. | Shukan Maki Yoko [週刊真木よう子]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Interesting, but very uneven. |
Smile [スマイル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Nakai is great and a real good supporting cast. But Jun Matsumoto is sooooo bad!! If they'd had a real actor *cough - Haruma Miura - cough* instead, this could have been an excellent drama. | Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi [空から降る一億の星]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Kimura's best performance IMHO. Eri Fukatsu and Kou both excellent, but Sanma Akashiya is the star of this drama. A must see!! | Soratobu Kouhoushitsu [空飛ぶ広報室]
Rating: 4/10 (Watched)
Where to start. This drama is about the JASDF and Kyohei Shibata has all the military bearing of a used car salesman. Go Ayano's character "Sorai" is so emotionally unstable there is no way this guy would ever get in fighter jets, it's highly unlikely he would even pass basic officer candidate training. Didn't recognize Miki Mizuno until episode two and all I can say is, "What the hell happened? She used to be good!" Yui Arigaki's character is a hard nosed tv reporter that cries over a plate of spaghetti. I can't remember the last drama I saw that stretched credulity to the point where it was laugh out loud bad like this one. |
Soratobu Taiya [空飛ぶタイヤ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another real good drama from the folks at Wowow. The little guy takes on the big guy, somewhat predictable results but it was a lot of fun watching them get there. | Soredemo, Ikite Yuku [それでも、生きてゆく]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Best drama I have seen in quite awhile. Pretty intense. I knew Eita, Fubuki, Ono, and Otake would be good but Hikari Mitsushima came out of nowhere! My only complaint would be the ending. I would have ended with the scene in the park after Eita and Mitsushima had spent the last day together. The rest after that seemed tacked on. | Souri to yobanai de [総理と呼ばないで]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I really liked this drama! Good storyline, great supporting cast and Suzuki in a total change of character is a hoot as the ditzy wife! |
Sousa Chizu no Onna [捜査地図の女]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than expected! I thought it would be the cliche'd crime commited/Miki Maya gets out her maps/goes crazy (read that overacts)/crime solved. But that wasn't how it turned out at all. My only question is, what was the deal with Ken Ishiguro's hair?!!? | SP [エスピー]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Style, but very little to no substance. Having said that, I still enjoyed it, just wish there'd been a little more plot to it. | ST Season 2 ~ Aka to Shiro no Sosa File [赤と白の捜査ファイル]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Watched the special, thought the characters were pretty over the top and unbelievable but there's some good actors here so I watched the drama anyway. If you like the Special, you'll probably like the drama, if you didn't like the Special, you probably won't like the drama either. |
Stand UP!!
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great script and great work by all the cast! It would have been so easy to go the quick and easy way and mess this thing up, but they didn't. An excellent drama all the way around. | Star no Koi [スタアの恋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Okay, the plot itself is not that special, but boy, this cast, SUBARASHII!!! | Station [ステイション]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The ups and downs of three coworkers at a train station in Tokyo. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious. Not bad. |
Stepfather Step [ステップファザー・ステップ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Save yourself some time. Watch the first couple of episodes to figure out the characters and then watch the last two, which are actually pretty good. | Strawberry Night [ストロベリーナイト]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Real strong cast but the storyline could have been better. But still well worth watching. | Style! [スタイル!]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Appropriatley named. Lots of style, very little substance. But still it was fun and enjoyable. |
Sugao no mama de [素顏のままで]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great drama about two women's friendship over the years. Everybody talks about Yasuda and Nakamori and justifiably so, but Matoba and Azuma are excellent as well as the two male leads. | Suika [すいか]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice quirky drama about the folks at "Happiness San-cha". Well written, good job by a good cast. | Summer snow
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great up until the final episode although you could see how it was going to end. Cast was really good even Ryoko Hirosue who I normally don't much like. If not for the ending, I would have given this a nine. |
Suna no Tou ~ Shirisugita Rinjin [砂の塔 ~ 知りすぎた隣人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Didn't really get going until episode 6. Kanno was great as a housewife trying to do her best, but the whole "Hamelin" thing was more a distraction than anything else. | Sunao ni Narenakute [素直になれなくて]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Another bad one. This is where I began to notice what I call the "UKD" phenomenon. Otherwise known as the "Ueno Kiss of Death". If Juri Ueno has a major part in a drama, it's probably not any good. | Suteki nan sen Taxi [素敵な選TAXI]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice take on the time travel scenario. Yutaka was great as the taxi driver, his deadpan delivery really made it work. Lots of subtle humor and an excellent group of guest stars. |
Suwiito debiru [スウィートデビル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
For four people that can't act, it's really not that bad. | Suzuki Sensei [鈴木先生]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
"GTO with a brain" best describes "Suzuki Sensei" Unlike "GTO" the class isn't full of bad kids, but they do have their problems and Suzuki Sensei uses his wits to help them thru. And even though these are middle school kids they seem smarter and a lot more mature than the kids in "GTO". Also props to Tomita Yasuko great to watch as Teruko sensei slowly coming unglued. | Suzuran [すずらん]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Like all asadoras has its ups and downs, but I really liked the setting and the timeframe of this one. |
Sweet Home [スウィート・ホーム/甜蜜家庭]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Yamaguchi's best performance IMO. Also great were Kanako Fukaura as her next door neighbor, Hiroshi Fuse and his trusty bat. Akiko Nomura is a hoot as Tomoko's MIL. Highly recommended!! | Taburoido [タブロイド]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay, but given this cast I thought it should have been better. | Taiho shichauzo [逮捕しちゃうぞ]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A Japanese "Charlie's Angels" The plots were thin, the acting was even thinner. But what the hey, I liked it. |
Taira no Kiyomori [平清盛]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
The "perfect storm" bad taiga. Bad script, weak lead actor, and an era that holds very little interest. Really, I don't see how they can possibly make a worse taiga than this one. | Taiyo wa Ugokanai ~ The Eclipse [太陽は動かない ~ THE ECLIPSE]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Lots of fighting, lots of killing, lots of explosions, and in the end you say to yourself, "What the hell was that all about??!!" | Taiyou no uta [タイヨのうた]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Plot didn't really knock me out, pretty much what I thought it would be. Sawajiri better than expected. |
Tantei ga Hayasugiru [探偵が早すぎる]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Greedy people trying to cheat someone out of their rightful inheritance. But "Tantei" plays it partially for laughs so you know Ichika is never really going to come to harm. The payoff is at the end of every episode seeing how Chikumagawa foils the plot. In a way, every episode is the same. Good acting, but predictable. For a serious version of the same scenario watch "Nyokei Kazoku". | Tatta Hitotsu no Koi [たったひとつの恋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Surprised by this one, wasn't expecting much as I'm not a big of any of the actors (except Kimiko Yo). But I really liked this one a lot. Just a notch below the Kitagawa's Klassics (Long Vacation, Beautiful Life, Sora kara, or Overtime), which means its still miles better than most of the stuff out there. | Tempest [テンペスト]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
Words fail me in trying to describe how bad this drama is. Saying it is a complete mess seems inadequate. Just a truly, truly awful drama. |
Tenchijin [天地人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A real charitable 7! With this cast, this should have been a whole lot better. | Tenka [天花]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Took awhile to get going, but one of the better asadoras (even though Tenka picked the wrong guy). | Tenno no Ryoriban [天皇の料理番]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Takeru Sato great as Tokuzo. Good work by the supporting cast as well especially Ryohei Suzuki as Shutaro. |
Tenshi no Wakemae [天使のわけまえ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Nice drama but way too short. They really could have expanded on a lot of the characters. What was the boyfriend doing while he was gone? More on Rie and her family. The co-worker that left his family in Akita. Miki and the guy that ran the grocery store. Lots of material there left undone, but what they did give us was real good. | Tentai Kanzoku [天体観測]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Highly underrated drama, great ensemble cast | Teppan Shoujo Akane [鉄板少女アカネ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Proof that just because they make a drama revolving around food, that doesn't mean it will be good. |
Teru Teru Kazoku [てるてる家族]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Somebody at NHK thought a musical asadora would be a good idea. Probably the same person that thought casting Takky as Yoshitsune would be a good idea. | Theseus no Fune [テセウスの船]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Like most "go back in time" scenarios you have to suspend your logic at the door, you really have to with this one. Juri Ueno fans will probably be disappointed, she only has a small part. | Tiger & Dragon [タイガー＆ドラゴン]
Rating: 3/10 (Watched)
They said, "Watch the special first." So I watched the special first, didn't laugh once. Got as far as episode 3 and still hadn't laughed once. Stopped there. |
Toge ~ Kuranaga Haruyuki no Gyakushuu [とげ ~ 小市民 倉永晴之の逆襲]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
When this aired in Japan it was a late night drama. Which was appropriate because I'm sure it put a lot of people to sleep. | Tokkan Tokubetsu Kokuzei Choushukan [トッカン 特別国税徴収官]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Fairly predictable. Inoue is the newcomer that trusts everyone, Kitamura is the old timer that trusts nobody. Decent supporting cast led by one of my favorites, Sawa Suzuki. | Tokugawa Yoshinobu [徳川慶喜]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
If ever a taiga could be described as average it's this one. Average script, average cast, just, , , average. |
Tokumei Keiji Kakuho no Onna [特命刑事 カクホの女]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Another in the detective partner genre. This time the partners are women. Not a bad drama, but not anything special either. | Tokyo Bandwagon [東京バンドワゴン]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Most boring family drama ever. | Tokyo DOGS ~ Saiaku de Saiko no Partner [東京DOGS]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
You could call this "Aibou for fangirls" but I don't think even most fangirls are this stupid. |
Tokyo Friends [東京フレンズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty standard chick-flick stuff. Otsuka's singing and Maki's acting are the only real reasons to watch it. | Tokyo Love Story [東京ラブストーリー]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Pretty mediocre. Some people didn't like the ending, for me, that was the only thing that made sense. | Tokyo Sentimental [東京センチメンタル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kotaro Yoshida very good as 3-times married still looking for love for loves sake. Nice little travelogue of Tokyo as well. |
Tokyo Tower ~Okan to Boku to, tokidoki, Oton [東京タワー2007]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A remake of the movie with Odagiri Joe of the same name. Not as good as the movie, but not bad for a "cover version". Misuko Baisho very good as Oka. | Tokyo Zenryoku Shojo [東京全力少女]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Good supporting cast but the lead actress is terrible. Although I'm not sure if a better actress would have made much difference. | Tomorrow
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
I guess Yutaka and Kanno really needed the money, instant melodrama, just add water. |
TONBI [とんび]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Probably the best of the 'single parent' genre. Uchino unforgettable as Yasu and great work by Akira Emoto and Yumi Aso as well. | Top Caster [トップキャスタ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Don't bother wasting your time on this. Watch "News no Onna" instead. | Top Sales [トップセールス]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was o.k., Yui was great as expected, but the subplots with her four classmates got to be a distraction. Wish they'd stuck more with Yui and her struggles as a woman trying to make it in a male dominated business. |
Toshiie to Matsu [利家とまつ]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Is it an historical drama or a love story? It's both! And it works on both levels. If you're only able to watch one taiga in your life, this is the one to watch. | Toshishita No Otoko [年下之男]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The actors were all good. Inamori was very good. But I just couldn't work out Takahashi being attracted to Fubuki, otherwise I might have rated it higher. | Totto Terebi [トットてれび]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Good, short drama about Japanese TV icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. (That old lady at the beginning and end of each episode is the real Tetsuko Kuroyanagi). Great work by Mitsushima as usual. |
Triangle [トライアングル]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Good cast wasted here. After an excellent first episode, this rapidly descends into one of the most non-sensical dramas ever. | Trick [トリック]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Abe and Yukie, can you say chemistry? | Trick Season 2 [トリック2]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not as good as TRICK 1, Abe and Yukie were fine, but the writing didn't seem to be as good. The stories (especially the first one) seemed to drag at times. |
TROUBLEMAN [トラブルマン]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Six seemingly unrelated people thrown together, but they're all connected. Drags a bit in the middle but at episode 9 it all comes together. | Tsubasa No Oreta Tenshitachi 1 [翼の折れた天使たち]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Chick flick, and since I ain't a chick couldn't really get into it. | Tsuhan-Man
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Nerdy guy/Gorgeous girl co-workers formula. Just average. The high point was watching Miki Maya drive around in her Corvette. |
Tsukahara Bokuden [塚原卜伝]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Well done period piece. NHK should have made this their Taiga drama and "Gou" only 7 episodes. | Tsuki no Koibito [月の恋人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Eight is too many. Episodes that is. If it weren't for Matsuda and Shinohara, I would have rated this even lower. | Tsuma wa, Kunoichi ~Saishusho~ [妻は、くノ一]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The synopsis shown is for 'Tsuma wa Kunoichi' which aired Spring of 2013. 'Tsuma wa Kunoichi - Saishusho' is the follow-up drama. It picks up where the original left off. Ichikawa is great as Futabsohi, the samurai more interested in astronomy and desperately trying to find his wife Orie. There's enough flashbacks that you could probably watch this one and get most of it but you're better off watching both. Good acting, interesting plot, suitably menacing bad guys and some well staged fight scenes. I liked them both. |
Tsuri Baka Nisshi ~Shinnyu Shain Hamazaki Densuke~ [釣りバカ日誌 ~新入社員浜崎伝助~]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Funny and at times sweet. Nishida was great. If all the episodes had been as good as the first and the last I would rate it higher. Plus, in every episode there was a new recipe for preparing fish. | Tumbling [タンブリング]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
The old "underdogs vs. the world" scenario that we've seen in everything from The Bad News Bears to Waterboys. The only difference is, those were good. | Ue o muite arukou! [上を向いて歩こう！]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad, but Nishida's pretty much one-dimensional character was a bit much for 12 episodes. |
Ueno Juri to Itsutsu no Kaban [上野樹里と5つの鞄]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
At least they were consistent. At the end of every episode I was saying to myself, "What the hell was THAT all about???" | Umechan Sensei [梅ちゃん先生]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Japan's post-war period is one of my favorites so I knew I'd probably like this drama going in. Horikita does a decent job with help from a real good supporting cast. | Unfair [アンフェア]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Took forever to get going, didn't really get good until about episode 7, but after that it was great. Eita and Mari Hamada were outstanding. |
Unmei no Hito [運命の人]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The ending was left kind of open, which makes sense because the US base issue in Okinawa hasn't been resolved in real life. And a pretty heavy handed treatment of Americans. I don't think every American in Okinawa is a rapist, thief, or lunatic driver that runs over little kids. Still, a very good drama. I really liked Yoko Maki and Taizo Harada. | Unnatural [アンナチュラル]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
"Unnatural" was pretty unoriginal. Which is not to say it was a bad drama, it wasn't. Just nothing particularly new or exciting. | Untouchable [アンタッチャブル]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
More like "Unwatchable"!! The thing about Yukie's dramas is they're either very good or very bad. File this one under very bad. |
Unubore Deka [うぬぼれ刑事]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Every episode pretty much the same. Some better than others, sometimes laugh out loud great, other times not so much. | Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm [牛に願いを - Love & Farm]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than I expected. Cast worked well together. | Uso no Sensou [嘘の戦争]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The final episode was kind of predictable, but overall I liked it. Kusanagi was great and the rest of the cast was very good with exception of Kiko Mizuhara. I cannot figure out how she keeps getting work. |
Usotsuki wa Fuufu no Hajimari [嘘つきは夫婦のはじまり]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Yoshida, a bachelor, and Kaho, a widow with 2 kids end up getting the same apartment. The usual confusion and misadventures follow. Somewhat predictable, but not bad. | Utahime [歌姫]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
My favorite drama of 2007!! Great story, great cast (even Nagase was good!!), well done all the way around. | Virgin Road [バージンロード]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Mai Hosho and Tetsuya Takeda were great, but this drama will be remembered by me for having the cheesiest final episode and most annoying theme song ever! |
Wakaba [わかば]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Average asadora | Wakamono no subete [若者のすべて]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good drama, although I thought they went a little overboard on the violence. Kimura and Hagiwara both very good. | Wakamonotachi 2014 [若者たち2014]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
There are a lot of "siblings living together" dramas. The "Hitotsu Yane" series, "Hotman", "Brother Beat", there are others. Watch one of them instead of this. |
Waraeru Koi wa Shitakunai [笑える恋はしたくない]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Short and sweet. If this drama had been 8 or 11 episodes I would have given it a 9. Shizuyo Yamasaki's Suzune is one of the best characters I've seen in any drama. | Wataru seiken wa oni bakari [渡る世間は鬼ばかり]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Written by Sugako Hashida who also wrote "Oshin" and she has written another great one. Very realistic family drama of the ups and downs of five daughters, their parents, in-laws, and just getting thru life. | Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu [私が恋愛できない理由]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Instead of the 'around 40 can't get married' scenario, we've got the 'around 25-30 can't get a boyfriend' scenario. Karina great as usual, she is the only reason to keep watching. |
Watashi no Aozora [私の青空]
Rating: 8/10 (Bought & Watched)
Loved Tomoko Tabata as spunky Nazuna! | Watashi no Aozora 2002 [私の青空２００２]
Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched)
Just o.k. sequel | Watashi, mikata desu
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Hiroshi Tachi is a not too bright, well-meaning, over-sexed detective and Ken Ishiguro is his brother that keeps getting him out of trouble. Lots of good supporting actors. My favorite episode was probably episode 4 with a very young Kanno and Matsuoka. |
Watashitachi no kyokasho [わたしたちの教科書]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great drama!! A bit long, they could have shaved it down to 11 episodes and not lost anything. Kanno was at her best!! | Water Boys [ウォーターボーイズ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
At first I thought the whole premise (High school boys doing synchrozied swimming) was pretty silly, but really, it's a pretty good drama. | Water Boys Season 2 [ウォーターボーイズ2]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A clone of the original, but for a sequel not bad. |
Wedding Planner [ウエディングプランナー]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Just average. Every episode is pretty much the same, a problem comes up and gets solved in the last ten minutes. Pretty weak ending as well. | With love
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
They were still using dial-up when this drama came out which might explain why it's one of slowest developing dramas ever. Would DSL have helped? I doubt it. | Woman
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Outstanding performance by Mitsushima. Rio Suzuki great as little Nozomi. At times pretty intense, but still an excellent drama. |
Wonderful Life [ワンダフルライフ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
They didn't really have enough for 12 episodes, could have been trimmed down some, but overall, I liked it. | xxxHolic
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I'm usually not a fan of this genre, but they kept the blood and gore to a minimum. It was actually pretty good. | Yae no Sakura [八重の桜]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A mixed bag. The first half covering events leading up to and including the Boshin War was great. The second half which dealt with creating the schools was some of the most boring stuff I've ever seen. |
Yakou Kanransha [夜行観覧車]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Started strong but turned out disappointing. This is the first murder mystery I've ever seen with an "everybody lives happily ever after" ending. And Sugisaki Hana as Ayaka was one of the most irritating characters I've seen in a drama in a long time! I was halfway hoping she would be the killer so we could see her executed! | Yamato Nadeshiko [やまとなでしこ【大和撫子】]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
One of my favorite romantic comedies. Great job by the cast, not just Nanako and Tsusutmi in the leads, but also great work by Yada, Kakei, and Sudo. Great script for them to work with as well. Big thumbs up!! | Yami no Bansosha [闇の伴走者]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another good mystery drama from WOWOW. Arata Furuta steals the show as the quirky manga expert. |
Yami no Bansosha Season 2 ~ Henshuuchou no Jouken
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Liked the first season better. For some reason, they took a lot of the quirkiness out of Furuta's character Daigo. He almost seemed like a normal person. It was okay, but not as good as the first season. | Yamikin Ushijima-kun [闇金ウシジマくん]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Pretty good, although I thought the ending was a little too pat. Yamada and Katase were both very good. What surprised me was they cast some actual AV actresses and how good they were, especially Kasumi Risa, she was great! I think she could have a real future as a mainstream actress. | Yankee-kun to Megane-chan [ヤンキー君とメガネちゃん]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
A low-rent version of "Nobuta" and it didn't help having Narimiya playing a high school kid at the ripe old age of 28. He was a college senior in "Orange Days" which was made 6 years before this!! |
Yasashii Jikan [優しい時間]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
Emotionally, almost on the same level as Beautiful Life, great performances from Nino, Akira Terao, and Kimiko Yo. | Yasha [夜叉]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Not a big science fiction fan, but this was a very well done drama. Hideaki Ito was excellent. | Yasuko to Kenji [ヤスコとケンジ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Over the top but a lot of fun. |
Yokai Ningen Bem [妖怪人間べム]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad, in fact the special effects were quite well done. This genre is just not my particular cup of tea. | Yomigaeru kinro [蘇る金狼]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Without a doubt the most violent and one of the best dramas ever. Shingo is excellent going from mild salaryman to psychotic killer, just outstanding! Good supporting jobs by Ryo Ishibashi, Takehiko Ono, and Shin Takuma. But after Shingo the most memorable performance was by Chosuke Ikariya. You gotta have a villain that's a real bastard and he more than fit the bill. I can't understand why Shingo hasn't been cast in this type of character since. | Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari 2006 [世にも奇妙な物語 15周年の特別編]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Sort of a Japanese version of 'The Twilight Zone'. Not nearly as good but it had it's moments. |
Yoshitsune [義経]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Taiga for fangirls. Casting Takky as Yoshitsune is like casting Donny Osmond as Patton. | Yottsu no Uso [四つの嘘]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Serious but sometimes funny. Terajima, Takashima, and Hada were good, but Nagasaku was great. | Yube no Curry, Ashita no Pan [昨夜のカレー、明日のパン]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Too short. Needed at least two more episodes to flesh out the characters more. |
Yume no California [夢のカリフォルニア]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
It was okay, but I really couldn't get into it. If you want to watch a drama about young people figuring out what to do with their lives, "Tentai Kanzoku" is much better. | Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro [勇者ヨシヒコと魔王の城]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A low budget Japanese version of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". The writers and actors aren't as talented as the Pythons, but their heart was in the right place. It had its moments. | Zekkyou
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Another intense drama that the folks at WOWOW excel at. Machiko Ono great once again. |
Zeni Geba [銭ゲバ]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great drama!! Lot of really good performances here, Matsuyama and Mimura were great, but I loved Shiina Kippei, this may be my favorite role of his. | Zenkai Girl [全開ガール]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Not bad, but not real good either. Forgettable fluff. | Zettai Kareshi [絶対彼氏]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Pretty unbelievable premise, but not all that bad. |
Zettai Reido [絶対零度]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Really didn't get going until episode 5, it was just average up to that point, but after that turned out pretty good. | Zoku Heisei Meoto Jawan [続・平成夫婦茶碗]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
At first I had hope for this one but it turned out to be another sequel that shouldn't have been made. I think they set a record for suicide attempts (I lost count after 4) Setsu the ghost's ability to physically hold or not hold things depending on whichever was convenient for the story and Yuka's screaming, watch the first one and stop there. | Zoku. Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi Season 2 [続・最後から二番目の恋 2]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
I gave the original an "8" and I liked this one more, not quite good enough to give it a "9" more like "8.5". Still, a very good sequel. |
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Log in
Anne [杏]
