Japanese Dramas
Generally I do not watch Japanese Dramas (sometimes referred to as “J Drama” or “Dorama”). While I appreciate certain qualities of theirs, in particular the presence of a beginning/middle/end, I find they are depressing and heavy-handed. This is almost certainly the result of being made in Japan – like a friend of mine once told me, the “Good Guys” always win in Hollywood and they always lose in Japan. However, in every case I have seen thus far, these shows are compelling until the very end – a far cry from the poor examples of drama we produce at home in Canada.
I did not watch any Japanese dramas for almost an year after my first experience – the awful “Summer Snow”. A show with nothing except for the protagonists getting screwed over in the worst ways possible repeatedly thoughout the show, with the “Happy Ending” being that the “girl” who loved the “boy” managed to live on happily after he died and gave her his organs – because she refused medical treatment abroad, to stay with him. (I know, I know). The ending made me want to punch her between the eyes. After being burnt on that POS, I stuck to anime until I managed to find a new show. “Koukou Kyoushi” (High School Teacher) was the story of a “forbidden romance” between a teacher and his student. It was watchable, although not I do not believe it would be particularly popular over here. Among other cultural faux-pas, the love affair between the professor and student is shown in a somewhat favourable light, despite being so blatently exploitive. It would never be able to go on the air. It is a shame because the ending is not bad, despite being vague.
I fared better with the comedic “Densha Otoko” (“Train boy”). A comedic story about an obsessive Japanese Animation fan who falls for a high class woman but has no idea how to deal with her. In desperation, he turns to the A-Channel message board (which parallels the real life Japanese “2 channel” message board) for help. The denizens help him through his various misadventures, which results in the board becoming fairly popular. This is apparently based on a real story, although greatly exaggerated. The main character can be ridiculous whiny and annoying at parts, although I suppose if I had never spoken to a woman for 22 years I would be the same.
An excellent series that I just picked up, with a few translation errors, is 2001′s “Big Money”. A story about a Japanese drifter who unwittingly helps a Yakuza power broker. An old Japanese stock trader takes him in and starts teaching him the tricks of the trade. I’ve only seen one episode, but it definitely looks interesting – a lot more so than seeing the latest anime. (Sadly, creativity left the Anime industry after the amount they spent on each series went up. Or maybe we are just seeing more of the garbage nowadays.)