Dorama Recommendations

I often get asked for recommendations, so here are my picks for various best and worst shows.

Note: in order to not have some of the various best and worst shows dominate the categories, each show is only listed once.

The Very Best

• Long Vacation. Easily the most popular dorama I've traded, and the one to show when people ask you why you watch this weird Japanese stuff.
• Konna Koi no Hanashi (A Story of Love). A well worn plot -- a mean rich man finds he has only six months to live -- that goes in obvious directions, but with excellent execution. It also manages to have a very good ending, which is tough for this kind of story.
• Aoi Tori (Blue Bird). Starts very slowly, but more than makes up for it as it goes along. It's best to watch this one knowing as little as possible about it.
• Nemureru Mori (Sleeping Forest). An excellent, often creepy mystery that is well thought out.
• Pure. The best of the handicapped genre, with a great cast and acting, especially by Wakui Emi. Excellent writing, and you don't fully find out what the story is about until the last episode.

The Very Worst

• Gurasu no Kutsu (Glass Slipper). Starts off well and has a great theme song, but somehow manages to descend into hitting almost every dorama cliché including a reprehensible one A story of a "perfect" Japanese woman who is sweet and submissive no matter how badly she's treated, and who is going to get her man and stand by him, even if he's not worth having.
• Yoru ni Dakarete (Night Embrace). Another one that starts off as interesting with two male friends who work in a "host bar" for women. I didn't even know bars like this existed for women until I saw this dorama. We get to see the inner workings of the bar and the tricks they use to keep the women coming; it's very educational! However, the story soon goes off the rails and doesn't come back.
• Kyousoukyoku (Concerto). How could so much talent be so boring? Complete with a very stupid "huh?" ending.
• Hoshi no Kinka 2 (Heaven's Coins 2). Worst sequel of all time, with characters doing many, many absurd things just to be melodramatic and to move the plot along.
• Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake (God, Just a Little More Time). I know a lot of people liked this one, but I couldn't stand it. Fukada Kyoko gets AIDS, and spends the rest of the series whining and feeling sorry for herself, saying she's going to make something of herself though she never does. Practically dripping pity, she gets almost everyone to say they like her. I was also bothered by the sexism in the story: we're supposed to feel sympathy for her, but she and the viewers are supposed to be repulsed by a male AIDS victim who has the same self-pity behavior (and who has much better reasons for it). The story completely lost me further on

The Best Shows You Haven't Seen

• Kita no Kuni Kara (From the North Country). Roughly kind of a modern-day Japanese "Little House on the Prairie", this is an outstanding dorama, considerably more realistic than what you're used to and all the more powerful for that. If all you want is to watch cute guys and girls, avoid this one; but if you want to see a great story, I strongly recommend it. This show is another top choice to show people who wonder what doramas are all about. This show has been so popular in Japan, it has had sequels for over 20 years! In addition, unlike most shows with sequels, this show stayed very popular to the end: the final sequel, a 4-hour special broadcast in September 2002, still got high ratings (38.4% and 33.6% share) on the two nights it was shown.
• Oshin. Morning doramas are often overlooked by dorama watchers, and they miss out on some great shows as a result. These stories are typically about the life of a woman who overcomes adversity in a man's world. However, unlike many feminist stories (or any story with an agenda), they don't heavy-handedly beat you over the head with "the message". The writers never forget that their first responsibility is to tell a good story. Oshin is one of the best. It has a daunting 297 15-minute episodes, but is worth it. This show got Superbowl-level ratings when it first aired in Japan: 62.9% share at its highest!
• Mada Koi wa Hajimarenai (Love Still Hasn't Begun). Two hundred years ago, two star-crossed lovers commit suicide rather than be apart, and vow to get together in their next life. It's now present day, and they're both reincarnated, but without any memory of their past lives together. Will they fulfill their destiny? This show is one of the most heartwarming doramas I've seen, and I mean that in a good way, not in the usual fake TV way.
• Oosama no Resutoran (The King's Restaurant). An illegitimate son who knows nothing about the business inherits a French restaurant that has fallen on hard times. The show has a series of fun, lighthearted, self-contained stories that build into a greater whole.
• Koi no Bakansu (Love on Hold). Akashiya Sanma is hilarious as a cad who is dating several women at once, and trying his best not to commit to any of them. He also shows he is one of those rare actors who can do both drama and comedy well, sometimes in the same scene. The first episode is boring setup, but the rest of the series more than makes up for it.

Best Endings

"Best ending" does not necessarily mean "happy ending"; it means a very satisfying ending that suits the story.

• Age 35 Koishikute (Age 35, I Miss). The story of how an affair affects a marriage. Good writing makes the story above average by avoiding the usual pitfall of this genre of cheaply and simplistically making one of the characters a two-dimensional villain. Caution: the I-Channel first broadcast the last episode with about ten minutes clipped at the end, and this is the version most people are trading. They later broadcast the full version. KTSF (and probably KIKU) also broadcast the full version. If the version you have ends with one of the characters alone at the airport, you don't by any means have the real ending. (This show also has one of the best theme songs of any dorama.)
• Beautiful Life. Another very good handicapped love story. A near miss for the Very Best category.
• Love Letter (AKA When I Close My Eyes) (Movie). After a woman's lover dies, she finds out there may have been more to their relationship than she knew. You'll either love this movie or be bored to tears.
• Ring (1998 Movie). A mystery horror movie that actually understands that restraint can make the story only more effective. The original is more atmospheric and scarier than the Hollywood remake.
• Ai o Kudasai (Please Give Me Love). The spiritual journey of a very depressed woman. The final ending is just OK, but this show has some of the best episodic endings I've seen. The episodes often end at just the right point, getting you to want to watch the next episode, often without resorting to a cliffhanger. Warning: this show is very dark!

Worst Endings

• Asunaro Hakusho (Asunaro White Paper). I loved this show until about 2/3rds of the way through when they jump ahead a few years.
• Kouri no Sekai (World of Ice). An excellent mystery if only they had had a decent ending for it.
• Overtime.
• Hikon Kazoku (Unmarried Family). Unnecessarily ambiguous ending that seems intended to make a point -- poorly -- and try to show the writers can be clever.
• Sugao no Mama de (Just the Way We Are).

Best Chemistry

• Aishiteiru to Ittekure (Say You Love Me). Toyokawa Etsushi and Tokiwa Takako seem to complement each other perfectly.
• With Love. I heard the choice of casting Tanaka Misato with Takenouchi Yutaka was criticized in Japan because she wasn't considered pretty enough. Boy, some people missed the point of this show!
• Kono Yo no Hate (The End of This World). Suzuki Honami and Mikami Hiroshi almost salvage this story which could have been great with some tightening up and a little less excess. Suzuki Honami shows her talent is being wasted in other doramas that don't call on her to do much.
• Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko (Heaven Cannot Wait). No, not the chemistry between Matsuoka Masahiro and the milquetoast love interest: the chemistry between Matsuoka Masahiro and Jinnai Takanori. These two have great buddy chemistry!
• Sono Ki ni Naru Made (The Second Time Around). The story may not have been as good as it could have been, but Akashiya Sanma and Tezuka Satomi come across amazingly well as a complex couple who have issues and are both attracted to and repelled by each other.

Worst Chemistry

• 101st Kaime no Puropozu (101st Proposal). Takeda Tetsuya plays a loser trying to make good that Asano Atsuko is supposed to be attracted to, eventually. The story attempts to be touching and dramatic, but it doesn't quite work with this cast.
• Majo no Jouken (A Witches Condition). In a show celebrating pedophilia, Matsushima Nanako is supposed to love Takizawa Hideaki enough to pull a Mary K. Letourneau, standing tall against other adults who for some odd reason just don't seem to understand that it's OK for her to prey on a minor as long as they really love each other. Unfortunately, these two just seem to be mouthing their lines with no real passion.
• Taburoido (Tabloid). Tokiwa Takako tries, but even she can't pull off any chemistry opposite Sanada Hiroyuki (who doesn't even try).
• Tokyo Love Story. Maybe it's just me, but Suzuki Honami plays a character that is soooo annoying that I couldn't understand why Oda Yuuji -- or anyone -- would be attracted to her. Oda Yuuji's character also seems a bit bland for her to be head over heals in love with.
• Kimi to Ita Natsu (A Summer With You). A rare dorama which can actually "boast" having multiple couples with little or no chemistry!

Best Family Shows

These shows have love interests, but the focus tends to be on family relations. Thus, a lot of people skip them. If you're one of those people, you're missing out and this category is for you!

• Hitotsu Yane no Shita 1 & 2 (Under One Roof 1 & 2). After a number of years of separation, an orphaned oldest son brings back his 5 brothers and sisters to live with him. Both the original and sequel got very high ratings when aired in Japan, and they deserve it.
• Oyaji (Oh, Dad). Father Knows Best for Japan.
• Kekkon Shiyou Yo (Marry Me). A man must immediately make it look like he is married to keep custody of his son. Too bad he and his one prospect can't stand each other. A funny story that you'll like or hate depending on what you think of Eguchi Yosuke's ham-it-up style of acting.
• Uogokoro Arebu Yomegokoro (Family AKA If Fishheart, Then Waterheart). Not at all a trendy dorama -- this is another more realistic show -- that starts off slowly and continues without a whole lot happening for the most part, but that gets very touching. It's filled with characters you'll grow to care about a lot.
• Love and Peace. Matsuoka Masahiro successfully pulls off playing a character who suddenly has to grow up faster than he wanted when he adopts his two nieces and a nephew after his brother and sister-in-law die, while he is also juggling a job and a fiancée. Fun and cheerful.

Doramas I Would Most Like to See Subtitled

There are a lot of doramas that never get subbed, so that Japanese-challenged people like me never get a chance to see them (or at least understand them). The shows listed below are the ones that never made it (so far as I know) that I would most like to see. (And if any fansubbers are reading this list and are interested in any shows, I can get you leads on getting unsubbed copies of all of them.)

• 29-Sai no Kurisumasu (29th Christmas). This show is easily the most popular show I know of that English-speaking dorama watchers have sought. I've had a number of people write me looking for a subbed copy of it -- far more than for any other show I don't have. I've heard the story is very good, and I'd watch any show that Yamaguchi Tomoko is in.
• Moshimo (If). An intriguing anthology about a person who must make an important choice, and then the episode shows what happens if he decides either way. Shuji Awai (Love Letter, April Story) won Japan Director Association Newcomer's Prize for an episode of this show. Two episodes were subbed and shown in New York, and I really want to see the rest of it.
• Futari (The Two of Us). An overshadowed Japanese schoolgirl must suddenly cope with being an only child when her older sister dies. Fortunately, she gets some help... from her sister! This very popular story started out as a book, then a manga, then a TV movie, then a TV series.
• Limit: Moshimo Wagako ga (Limit). The follow-up mystery from the writer of Nemureru Mori and Kouri no Sekai about a father searching for a kidnapped child. Anyone who was responsible for those two shows should have a good third mystery in them.
• Namida o Fuite (Wipe Your Tears). I like Eguchi Yosuke and Uchida Yuka, and seeing them together would be fun. Eguchi Yosuke takes in his friend's four children after their parents have a tragic accident. This show sounds like it's a touching story for fans of Hitotsu Yane no Shita (like me :) ).

Other Bests

Good shows further off the beaten track...

• Best "So Bad It's Good" Dorama: Sutouka Sasou Onna (The Stalker). Unintentionally hilarious show about a woman who goes off the deep end. It's worth watching just for Jinnai Takanori's constant "Oh No!" Mr.-Bill expressions, but there's a lot more! By the time you reach the final episode and the ending, you'll be rolling on the floor.
• Best Kinpachi-Sensei Rip-off: Minikui Ahiru no Ko (The Ugly Duckling). Kishitani Goro does a nice job as a funnier Kinpachi Sensei, and he and Tokiwa Takako are great together.
• Best Dorama on Drugs: Love Complex. Very nonlinear storyline that takes a lot of risks. You'll think it's either brilliant or a mess (or both). If you want to attempt it and need subtitles, try to find the NGN version; the show has a lot of fast, snappy dialog that is missed in the fractured-English, Asian-pirate version.
• Best Business Show: Risou no Joshi (The Ideal Boss). Good characters and stories mixed well with Japanese attitudes about work that I found informative.
• Best Soap Opera: Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari (Making It Through). The long running family dorama (seven yearlong weekly series, so far) about five sisters, their parents, and their families. Almost no one outside of Japan has seen this one -- it's rarely traded -- which is a shame. Though it is a soap opera, it's a pretty decent one.
• Best Comic-Book Dorama: Salaryman Kintaro. Often, so over the top that this show almost becomes self-parody, super-salaryman Kintaro regularly saves the day in an entertaining fashion, while attracting every woman for miles. Also, a rare show with a couple of sequels that are as good as or better than the original (until it totally jumped the shark with series 4).
• Best Anthology: Kitto Dareka ni Au Tame Ni (Searching For Someone). The only regular character is a taxi driver who at some point in the show transports one of the stars. The stories often start and end in the middle of a larger story. Some people hate this show and/or find it frustrating, but I think many of the episode are very well done if you can accept ambiguity. This show is best watched in small doses.
  
• Best Turnaround: Kagayake Rintaro (Lighten Up Rintaro). This dorama starts off as a top choice for biggest snoozer. It's very, very boring! However, after a few episodes, it suddenly picks up. The later episodes aren't spectacular, but they're a vast improvement over the first few and well worth watching. Don't skip the beginning episodes because they set up what follows.