Aoi Yu [蒼井優] Aoi Yuu doesn't star in dramas often, like Osen. Granted, Osen wasn't very good, but she still put up an admirable performance. She really shines in her movies though. Watch All about Lily Chou chou, Rainbow Song, Hula girls, Hana and Alice, One million yen girl, and you will see how versatile she is.
Ayase Haruka [綾瀬はるか] Great actress from Sekachuu and Byakuyakou. Great chemistry with Yamada Takayuki
Ueno Juri [上野樹里] My favorite Japanese actress everrr! Great acting, great personality, never fails to refresh her images in different movies and dramas.
HHND's dramas (23)
Aikurushii [あいくるしい] Rating: 9/10 (Watched) It's a very touching family/human drama with a slow tempo that might bore you if you like something more dramatic.
Arifureta Kiseki [ありふれた奇跡] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Very good drama about people falling love around 30 years of age, though it started out slow at first. Great filming, scenery, sometimes even feel like you're watching a movie.
Byakuyakou [白夜行] Rating: 10/10 (Watched) OK, if all you want to watch is a romantic, happy-ending drama, this is not the one for you. If you are seeking something above and beyond, something that makes you think, wonder, ache, agonize, then this is a must-watch. Beautiful filming, strong cast and an extremely powerful plot. Best drama I've ever seen (subjectively) hands down.
Engine [エンジン] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Great drama about family connection and just human love for one another. Juri and KimuTaku alone make it worth watching.
H2~Kimi to itahibi [２〜君といた日々] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) Everything was mediocre, from the acting to the plot, and though baseball was the theme I felt like it was more romantic than anything else. Still liked it though, no idea why.
Hana Yori Dango Season 2 [花より男子] Rating: 7/10 (Bought & Watched) Better than HYD 1 because there was no Sakurako. Nevertheless, I watched it because I bought it. Thoroughly cringed while watching.
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e [花ざかりの君たちへ] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Funny, good casting, a drama that will make you want to return to the old highschool days. But the blatant lessons made me feel like I was back in 1st grade hearing moral stories from my teacher again.
Innocent Love [イノセント・ラヴ] Rating: 5/10 (Watched) Probably the most disappointed J-drama I've seen. The plot was weak and not fully developed with a terrible ending, the cast was not much better.
Kami no Shizuku [神の雫] Rating: 6/10 (Watched) I like the topic, but Kame's acting in this series somehow seems really stoned (even though I like him I have to say this). Annoying main female character.
I won't give it a rating because I stopped 15 mins into the drama. Hoped YamaP's acting could improve somewhat but couldn't stand 15 minutes of it, so I decided to give up.
Last Friends [ラスト・フレンズ] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) Started out promising but the characters never get to develop fully, and a very disspointing ending. Worth watching because of Ueno Juri's priceless character Ruka and Eita's Takeru.
Liar Game [ライアーゲーム] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) Thrilling, unpredictable, I didn't like Toda Erika as much in this drama but that could be attributed to the annoyingly good nature of her character.
LIFE [ライフ] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) The most thrilling drama I've ever seen. The casting and plot is good. The reason why I didn't give it a higher rating is that sometimes you feel like some of the bullying are exaggerated to serve the purpose of the plot.
Long vacation [ロングバケーション] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Classic love story, great acting by KimuTaku and Yamaguchi Tomoko. Quirky, funny yet heart-warming at the same time.
Majo no jouken [魔女の条件] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) I thought the drama was just too dramatic (lol, aren't dramas supposed to be dramatic) for my taste, probably because I'm totally not into the kind of love where people turn crazy for each other. Not a bad drama, I just didn't like it.
Nobuta wo Produce [野ブタ。をプロデュース] Rating: 10/10 (Watched) Best school drama I've ever seen. Funny at times but mostly touching and extremely well made. Kamenashi Kazuya's acting in this one was just perfect, it's as if the character was written for him. Yamashita Tomohisa's character is strong, though his acting is (like usual) not the best, he fits the role well. Makes me cry even when the scenes were meant to be funny. Their friendship was just that beautiful.
Nodame Cantabile [のだめ カンタビ−レ] Rating: 10/10 (Watched) Best drama ever, in my heart at least. Now to be fair, the filming was probably not the best out of all the series I've seen, but the casting was superb (Juri, anyone?), the wacky manga-like feel was simply hilarious, and an extremely meaningful drama as well. It's what keeps me watching J-dramas.
Osen [おせん] Rating: 7/10 (Watched) Good theme about Japanese food, culture, the way of life, but kind of too slow for my taste. Aoi Yuu alone makes it worth watching.
Proposal Daisakusen [プロポーズ大作戦] Rating: 5/10 (Watched) Interesting drama, I would have liked it better if the two lead actor/actress were better at acting. Watching them I saw no "love" whatsoever. Plus the drama is kind of slow.
Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu [世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ] Rating: 9/10 (Watched) Not exactly my favorite genre / topic, but the casting and the beautiful filming make up for it. Not about people's struggle to live (as in 1LOT), but rather the struggle of the person who remains to forget about what happened and move on with life.
Shiroi Kyoto [白い巨塔] Rating: 10/10 (Watched) Very good drama, one of my most favorite. It's a drama about politics in the hospital and deals way more with human relations rather than the medical aspect. There are so many interesting characters in this drama - interesting, real, human-like, complex, you name it, which make up for two slightly annoying (but not completely unreal) characters.
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi [たったひとつの恋] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Another classic love story, though the storyline isn't fresh I like the little details and the supporting characters that make it a strong drama in my opinion. Touching story about love, but also family, and especially friendship.
Triangle [トライアングル] Rating: 8/10 (Watched) Honestly these types of detective dramas never leave a lasting impression on me, but while I was watching I liked Triangle, especially the filming. Totally fell in love with Eguchi-san as well hehe.
HHND's drama reviews (3)
Byakuyakou [白夜行] Must see [Rating: 10/10] First off, some comments here mesmerized me. The first question that pops out is, "Do people think?" OK, Byakuyakou has the two lead casts that are the same in Sekachuu. In Byakuyakou and Sekachuu 1 person dies, 1 person lives (main characters). THAT'S IT. I probably will never understand how people come up with the concept "Byakuyakou and Sekachuu are similar". Well let me ask you, are "Romeo & Juliet" and "Hamlet" similar??? They're both written by Shakespeare after all!!!!
That said, Byakuyakou is a dark drama. I haven't seen A million stars falling, but this is one of the best Jdrama, if not drama overall, that I've ever seen. Yes, its logic has some loopholes, but what kind of dramas/movies is free from loopholes? The important thing is, they tried to portray the connection between the 2 characters, and they did it well. The filming is impressive, the acting is superb. I don't know what else people are demanding from this.
Also some people give this drama a 5 because it's "depressing". If you can't stand dark dramas, don't watch them! Just because a drama is "depressing" doesn't mean it's bad. Many times it's quite the reverse, actually.
Proposal Daisakusen [プロポーズ大作戦] Good plot, horrible acting [Rating: 6/10] OK, fair review.
This drama has good plot, if you can call it "plot". It doesn't really have much "action" (aka unpredictable events) in it, but I appreciate the slow plot (to the point that it was sleep-inducing thanks to the cast) that tried to portray the emotions and reluctance of Ken (main character). However, with a drama driven by emotion/internal feelings like this one, you need a really strong cast to convey the idea. Just think about it. When you're watching an action movie, you're not gonna be pausing for the expression on a person's face for long before the next action scene kicks in. However, in dramas like this where there are long pauses of characters looking at each other, it just puts me to pain how expressionless, emotionless YamaP was, and how Nagasawa Masami, with her trademark big grin, was overacting. Two opposites don't really make a good one in this case. The only thing that kept me watching 'till episode 9 (and after that I just fastforwarded to the special) was the tolerable development of the character.
In general, good plot but unfortunately the cast couldn't fulfill half of what the plot wanted to carry.
Shiroi Kyoto [白い巨塔] Best medical drama! [Rating: 10/10] Great, great medical drama! Great plot, great acting, enough twist, not overdoing the dramatic and emotional part at all, just... enough. The interaction between doctors and patients was really touching, the hunger for power convincing but also leaves room for you to feel sorry/sympathize with the character. Not much romance in this one, but since I'm not a fan of such topic, it didn't bother me at all. If you like serious drama, watch this one. I wouldn't categorize it in either the "dark" drama side (like Byakuyakou, 1 million stars falling) or the "happy" drama side (like Hana Yori Dango), it's just... realistic I guess. Overall it has a sad ending and a vague feeling as you're watching it, but everything in this drama was so raw, so undecorated that just leaves you feeling like you can really meet these people in real life!
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Aoi Yu [蒼井優]
Aikurushii [あいくるしい]
