Let's talk about dramas!

I happen to know that almost everyone on this forum watches dramas to some extent, so let's talk about them! Because I for one love talking about dramas, and because I think this forum needs something fun. <3 Some stuff to talk about: What have you guys been watching lately? What are your favorite dramas? Favorite actors/actresses? etc.

I don't know if any of you are watching any current dramas (er, or dramas that just finished but haven't been finished being subbed yet), but The Quiz Show 2 is probably my favorite this season. It started out pretty slow and formulaic (and I'll admit, at first I was just watching it because of a...certain actor *cough*), but it started to get really interesting and intense about halfway through. I love it! I could go on about various dramas that I'm watching, but I don't want to go rambling on by myself indefinitely, so. ^_^;;

Also, why does the title of the topic have to be at least ten characters long? That's dumb. >_>

Well, I tended to avoid Japanese dramas due to just not being interested in the exaggerated slapstick humor and melodramatic love stories. However, since I wanted to get Japanese practice without any subs, I found one that I actually like so far. 14-sai no haha I'm half way through and I've found it to be quite good. The male characters all suck in my opinion, but it is still interesting to me just to see how Japan handles major social issues like teen pregnancy (i.e. stuck in the 1950's from the looks of it so far)

I've heard Love Shuffle and Hana Yori Dango are also good, but when I took a peak at Love Shuffle it was a bit too difficult without subs. Since EVERYONE here has seen more dramas than I, I'm curious if anyone knows of any social issue ones that they recommend.

I just watched Love Shuffle recently, and I loved it. I love Hana Yori Dango too, although it definitely falls into the shoujo category, so not sure if you'd like it, Brian. Have you ever watched anything with Kimura Takuya? His dramas tend to be fantastic, imo.

As far as social issues, a lot of people really liked Last Friends. I stopped watching it after two episodes because it seemed overly depressing and it had too many social issues for one drama, but that's just me. Also, I'm currently watching Smile, which deals a bit with racism against Filipinos, especially in the first couple episodes. I've never seen racism dealt with in a drama before, so I thought that was pretty interesting.

The last few sound interesting... I'll have to look into them after I finish this one. Sometimes dramas tend to go overboard though... to an extreme on handling all sorts of issues all at one time (some totally absurd). Jamie was giving a replay of one drama she was watching while I was on MSN and it just went way overboard on people dying getting murdered no reason... sounded almost funny because of it.

What drama was Jamie telling you about? The only drama I know of that she's watching is Maou, which I kind of love with a passion. <3 But anyway.

But yeah, I kind of felt like Last Friends dealt with too much... Like, every character had a major issue. But a lot of people seemed to like it anyway, lol.

Don't know, she just said it was on cable, and she was shocked by how absurd it was getting with every minute that passed.

Oh, that must be something else then. Some jdramas are pretty bad... I try to stick with ones that I know at least some of the actors and/or that I've heard are good.

Hahaha, I think it was called Innocent Love or something. I was initially excited because ① it was on cable ② it had Horikita Maki in it. But then it was just so ridiculously overdramatic that not even her adorableness could save it. SIGH.

Amber, you know what I'm watching, because we're watching it together!

Ohhhh, I remember hearing about that drama a couple of seasons back. I guess it's for the best that I never watched it. Maki's dramas are kind of hit-and-miss, aren't they? I definitely do not intend to watch that Teppan Girl or whatever it's called ridiculous cooking one. ^_^;;

That's why I was confused when Brian first mentioned that other drama, haha. I'm like, no way she's talking smack about the amazingness that is Maou.

And Jamie, you NEED to watch the last two episodes of Stand Up!! I'm just thinking of it now because I was watching an old clip of Nino promoting it, haha, but man, I love that drama. Heck, once we finish Maou, I wouldn't be opposed to us watching Stand Up!! together from the beginning. Although maybe at your house because I don't want my parents around when we watch it, haha.

Oh yeah, now I remember. You were sending me the pictures to verify "cuteness" of that one lady for some reason cause Taku said she wasn't

Just found something on youtube that is even more absurd than that drama, going to send you the link Jamie.

Akai Ito is probably my favorite drama.

That name makes it almost sound like a horror movie :O

I'm kinda looking forward to Buzzer Beater. It hasn't came out yet, but it stars Yama-P...and it's about Basketball! I loved the manga, so I think I'm going to have to try and watch the drama to see what's up.

Buzzer Beater? Oh man! Sci-Fi basketball? I wonder how the drama would be. =)

I think it's actually Buzzer Beat, but. ^_^;; I'm...kind of skeptical... I haven't really liked any of Yamapi's dramas since Nobuta. His characters always seem so stoic and boring lately. :/ Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I kind of am afraid this drama will end up being stupid. But if Chris says the manga is good, then maybe it'll end up being good?

I personally am looking forward to Karei-naru Spy. Any Nagase Tomoya fans around here?? I'm kinda sad though, cuz this past season had tons of awesome dramas, but there aren't a lot I'm looking forward to for next season...

Awww, disregard my past comments, it is Buzzer Beat. Boo....
Very very clever of them to make the shows titled two letters less than a manga based on basketball. I don't think I'll be watching it because it's probably one of those confidence builder dramas where they build a rag tag sports team of misfits to get to some championship...

Yeah, probably... That's what I'm afraid of. I bet Yamapi's character is one of those guys who fails at life but he tries really hard, and that makes everything okay!

Oh, and I forgot to mention the other drama I'm looking forward to, Orthros no Inu! From DramaWiki: "Ryuzaki Shinji is a mysterious and ambitious man with a wicked heart, who possesses the power to heal pain and illness with the touch of his hand. Aoi Ryosuke, on the other hand, is a high school teacher with a gentle heart, but who has the ability to kill with his touch. The two happen to meet, resulting in a battle of good and evil." Sounds interesting to me, and it has a good cast~ With three Johnny's, good lord.

Actually, that sounds pretty epic. Kinda like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's swords Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga.

Now that the season has begun, I have to say, both Orthros no Inu and Buzzer Beat are FANTASTIC. Orthros no Inu is nice and dark and emo and has lots of fun moral dilemmas, like whether it's okay to kill one person so that other people can live. It's really unpredictable, and I have no idea where the plot is going, which, in the world of jdramas, is a refreshing change. Buzzer Beat, on the other hand, is a pretty typical romance-type drama, but the characters are great, and the whole cast has great chemistry. I really thought it was going to be stupid, but I LOVE it.

When you said "emo" instantly I was turned off, but the second I read "moral dilemma" then I was turned on again. (Ok, maybe that didn't come out right lol)

Hahaha, it's not *really* emo. Maybe just a bit angsty. Anyway, you should give it a shot!

Resurrecting this thread... anything new worth watching? Gemma just told me about Sunao ni narenakute which I am going to check out.

Yay for resurrecting the drama thread! Besides that, so far from this season I've also seen the first episode of Kaibutsu-kun, which is pretty ridiculous but actually pretty cute. I'm also planning to watch Yankee-kun to Megane-chan, Shinzanmono, and possibly Tumbling. Oh, and KimuTaku's new drama, Tsuki no Koibito, but that one doesn't start until May for some reason. That one is definitely going to be epic. I absolutely love the female leads.

lol, no problem resurrecting threads.

I actually heard from my friend about a drama he recommended called Proposal Dai... something. Do you know what that one is?