 Ando Lloyd �` A.I. knows LOVE? �` [安堂ロイド〜A.I. knows LOVE?〜]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
How can you not like this? It has battling androids, a love story, plot twists, social/political commentary, and KimuTaku's hair! Especially watch for Tsubasa Honda, who totally steals the show as Suppli. | Beautiful life [ビューティフルライフ]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Although it's a "KimuTaku drama", Tokiwa Takako absolutely shines in this tissue-box-emptying series. As the relationship between her character and KimuTaku's character develops, she comes out of her shell and puts into words complex personal issues many people probably overlook about disabled folks. It's so sweet to watch her character start out self-absorbed and bitter, but gradually open up about her vulnerabilities and finally embrace (and express) true joy. The supporting cast also did an excellent job, most notably Omori Akemi and Watabe Atsuro, playing Kyoko's mother and brother, respectively.
Just brace yourself for the inevitable.
I rounded my score up from a 9.75 out of 10. The only disappointment was that more time wasn't spent on Shuji and Kyoko's happy times after they moved in together. | BOSS
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Most fun I've had watching a "cop show" in a long time. The "brilliant misfits" formula can still feel fresh when you have the right cast and writers. |
BOSS Season 2
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Excellent all around. More depth to the characters, more comedy... as good as the original run was, season 2 was even better. | Bus stop [バスストップ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Very charming. NATSOU-SAAAAN! lol | CHANGE
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
If only politicians like that could be found! |
Doubles ~ Futari no Keiji [ダブルス ~ 二人の刑事]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Kinda formulaic cop/buddy show, but with gratuitous eye candy for the ladies. Entertaining and lots of action as one would expect from a Shinkjuku station. | Engine [エンジン]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Light-hearted, fun, poignant. Kimura's character was one I could relate to (racing driver who is inexperienced around kids). The racing was a bit "Hollywood", as it always is, but I won't be a bore about the details. Just relax and enjoy it. | Furuhata Ninzaburo [古畑任三郎]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Excellent series, no wonder it's so popular! |
Furuhata Ninzaburo Season 2 [古畑任三郎 2]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Excellent as always! | Furuhata Ninzaburo Season 3 [古畑任三郎 3]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
You can't go wrong with Furuhata-san. Tamura Masakazu shows once again why he's the most popular of the detective genre. | Gaiji Keisatsu [外事警察]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
A bit intense at times, but never truly lived up to its potential. Plus, the "behind-the-scenes" villains were stereotypical of the paranoid fantasy you might find of someone of a certain political leaning. Who wrote those characters, Michael Moore? |
Galileo [ガリレオ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Great dialog exchange between the main characters. Very interesting cases. Great supporting characters as well. | Galileo Season 2 [ガリレオ 2]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Another excellent series for Yukawa-sensei. Yoshitaka Yuriko does a great job with her character as well. And one of my favorites, Amami Yuki, guest stars in the two-part finale. Hard to top that! | Good Luck !! [グッドラック！！]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Not one of KimuTaku's better efforts, but not a loss either. The girl mechanic rides a pretty cool bike. |
Hanzawa Naoki [半沢直樹]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Intense, with multiple plot lines and plenty of corruption to fight. Sakai Masato has mastered the going-from-super-nice-guy-to-super-tough-guy-and-back-like-flipping-a-light-switch character. Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Takito Kenichi do a great job of rounding out the "3 Musketeers" against bank corruption. Ueto Aya is ridiculously cute as always, Kataoka Ainosuke is hilarious, and Dan Mitsu... well, you'll just have to see her for yourself. | Hanzawa Naoki Season 2 (POSTPONED) [半沢直樹 2]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Same great build-up of drama, with the occasional bit of humor thrown in to break the tension. Sakai Masato was excellent again, Kataoka Ainosuke was hilarious, and Kagawa Teruyuki gave what may be the best performance of his career. Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Kaku Kento were excellent in their roles as well. The cast clearly had fun with their roles this time. Hope it doesn't take another seven years to make season 3! | HUNTER ~Sono Onnatachi, Shoukin Kasegi~ [HUNTER〜その女たち、賞金稼ぎ〜]
Rating: 6/10 (Watched)
Not exactly cutting-edge... implausible (impossible) story lines with some eye candy thrown in. |
Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de [いつか陽のあたる場所で]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this drama, and how uplifting it was. Iijima Naoko continues to impress me with her ability to breathe life into difficult and complex characters. | JIN [JIN-仁-]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Excellent series, amazing sets and cinematography. Ayase Haruka (who I had first seen in Hotaru no Hikari and later in Mr. Brain) puts in a great performance. She just gets better with every production. Osawa Takao is great as the time-lost doctor, and Uchino Masaaki is masterfully entertaining as the historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma. Definitely one not to miss. | JIN Season 2
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
I can't say enough. Fantastic. I wouldn't be surprised if this show wins a bunch of awards. |
Karei naru Ichizoku [華麗なる一族]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Incredible production, compelling story. Great performances from the entire cast. | Kekkon Shinai [結婚しない]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
A bit predictable and syrupy, yet still entertaining and definitely worth watching. Especially liked the motorcycle scenes shot in Yokohama, where I was riding recently. Amami Yuki and Tamaki Hiroshi are excellent, as always. | Kira kira hikaru [きらきらひかる/法醫物語]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
The first Jdorama I ever watched, waaay back on the International Channel. Good mix of characters, although the main one could be annoying at times. The cynical female cop was my favorite. An English-subbed version has been found again! |
Koshonin [交渉人]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
The villains were a bit over-played. | Koshonin Season 2 [交渉人]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Better than the first series, but the villains still seem over-the-top, almost on the level of a Bond movie. However, the characters on the police force are better sorted and better written than before. | Kurokochi [クロコーチ]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Took a little while to gain traction, but the main character has surprising depth and the twists never stop coming. |
Last Christmas [ラストクリスマス]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Wonderful characters, very funny at times and very sad at others. Beautifully done. My (ex)girlfriend's favorite! | Long vacation [ロングバケーション]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Sweet and funny, I can see why it's considered a classic. Really liked the music too, but the music editing had some flaws. That said, the characters were fun, the set was great, and KimuTaku and Morimoto Leo were great as always. | Love Shuffle [ラブシャッフル]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Great character development and comedic moments helps this drama keep from being another prime-time soap opera about beautiful people with money. I can see why it's so popular.
I would've given it an 8.5 had it been on the meter, so I rounded up. ;) |
Marks no Yama [マークスの山]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Multi-layered and intense, a lot of story gets packed into just five episodes. Superb job by the whole cast. | Meitantei no Okite [名探偵の掟]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Quite funny. Not only does it poke fun at the detective genre, but also has a bit of fun with the viewers. May have ruined watching other, more serious, detective shows for me (haha). | MR. BRAIN
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Much fun. Liked Ayase Haruka much better here than I did in Hotaru no Hikari. Kagawa Teruyuki was superb, Gackt and Nakama Yukie were creepy as heck, and whoever played the really short lab tech (can't remember) was hilarious. I think "Kimutaku" modeled his character after Tom Hulce's portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1984 movie. The odd social behavior, and that laugh! Fun stuff. |
Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chuui [奥様は、取り扱い注意]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Having Ayase Haruka and Honda Tsubasa in the same show made this a must-watch for me. Neither disappointed. Hirosue Ryoko was a pleasant surprise, and I think this was one of her better roles. Ayase's action scenes were actually pretty good. | Osozaki no Himawari [遅咲きのヒマワリ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Okay, so this is a rural Japanese version of "Friends". Still, the acting is pretty good and the location (Shimanto) is beautiful. Oh, and good luck trying to get the theme song out of your head anytime soon! (That's a good thing.) | Pandora [パンドラ]
Rating: 5/10 (Watched)
Meh. |
Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi [最後から二番目の恋]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
So nice to see a drama about people my own age. A very charming "slice of life" drama set in a very charming location. | Shinya Shokudo [深夜食堂]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
It's a cliche, but this show is as comfortable as a favorite pair of jeans. Or maybe a more appropriate comparison would be "comfort food". Nothing ground-breaking or trend-setting, just very good characters, setting, and writing. | Shinya Shokudo Season 2 [深夜食堂]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Again, great slice-of-life drama, with interesting characters and thoughtful stories. Some will make you cry, some will make you laugh. All of them are guaranteed to entertain you. |
Shinzanmono [新参者]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
A great break from the different-murder-every-week-solved-in-an-hour format. Plenty of twists in each episode. Perhaps Abe Hiroshi's finest role yet. | Silent Poor [サイレント・プア]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
You'll need a box of tissues for this one. Maybe three. A look at the less fortunate in Tokyo, from the homeless, to Fukushima evacuees, to Filipino immigrants, to car accident survivors, etc. Some of the episodes are based on real-life cases of Tokyo social workers. Powerful stuff, not your typical entertainment. | SP [エスピー]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Excellent series. Good pace, great action, interesting characters, shot very well. |
Star no Koi [スタアの恋]
Rating: 8/10 (Watched)
Sweet and charming, with a very creative ending. | Taburoido [タブロイド]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Great cast, but a by-the-numbers idealistic drama about tabloid journalism. | Taiho shichauzo [逮捕しちゃうぞ]
Rating: 9/10 (Bought & Watched)
One of the few manga/anime I've read/watched, and it comes off well as a live-action. I don't think I would have cast Misaki Itoh as Natsumi. Nagashima Kazushige was terrific as the bumbling, love-struck Nakajima Ken, however. |
Tokyo Friends [東京フレンズ]
Rating: 7/10 (Watched)
Charming, with decent characters and acting. Didn't really pull me in though. More of a "girl's show", I guess. | Unfair [アンフェア]
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Top notch, great twists, interesting way to bring about other perspectives. | Woman
Rating: 9/10 (Watched)
Somber yet charming look at single motherhood in modern Tokyo. If you're looking for a slice-of-life drama that shows a more challenging view of life in Japan, this is a good one. Even if you're not, it's still a good drama. |
Yasashii Jikan [優しい時間]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
Although the pace is different from that of other dramas, the cast is excellent and the writing is top-notch. The main plot is very human, and the sub-plots are very entertaining. And it's set on Hokkaido, so the scenery is wonderful. Even the heavy snows. | Zoku. Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi Season 2 [続・最後から二番目の恋 2]
Rating: 10/10 (Watched)
The cast and writing are even better in this sequel series. Koizumi Kyoko and Nakai Kiichi really shine in their lead roles, while Uchida Yuki, Iijima Naoki, and Asano Kazuyuki are excellent in their supporting roles. Watch the original series (and SP) first, but definitely add this sequel to your watch list. | |
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