Witch Yoo Hee

Alright, today's topic of interest, Witch Yoo Hee, yet another drama i had put off until recently xD. Jae Hee stars in this one also, he was also in Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, which i commented on earlier, in fact a few people were in this one, including people from DelightFul Girl Choon Hyang, some even having similar roles in relation to Jae Hee, among other characters who also were in My Girl (makes sense, same director, and 2 of em had the same screenwriters, and all 3 aired on the same network, SBS)
Ok, so what do we have here in Witch Yoo Hee. We have, Han Ga In, who's drop dead gorgeous btw, playing the role of Ma Yoo Hee, CEO of an advertising company owned by her father, the President of a big super corporation. She's known to be a ruthless witch, but deep down inside she wants to love and be loved and has gone on several blind dates and matchmaking meetings (aww isn't that cute, rought exterior but a soft interior....:\) We have Jae Hee plays Chae Moo Ryong, a dropout medical student who now wants to be a french chef, but doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut and thus is currently out of a job. on a side note, they obviously don't have much creativity, Jae Hee's character name in Delightful Girl Choon Hyand was LEE Moo Ryong.
Anyway, the two first meet at a blind date session that Moo Ryong is going to at the request of a friend who threatens to tell his mom that he dropped out if he doesn't go. Yoo Hee tried hard to succeed this time but was too fake, and the two get off to a rough start and leave on bad terms. Later, coincidentally, Moo Ryong is on a delivery for his father who owns a restaurant when he has an accident with none other than Yoo Hee.
To repay his debt, he agrees to be her housekeeper, which had bee a problem for her to keep a constant one with her picky attitude. He also ends up becoming her love coach and they make a contract (oh noes another contract, classic hint at things to come). They agree to pretend to be in a relationship so that she can know how one feels like and what to do in certain situations of a relationship. He changes alot about her, including her fashion, getting her to cut her hair, and fixes her manners and such. But of course with the classic contract and fake relationship going, of course there's going to be romance that blossoms between them. With this romance comes the obstacles, for one, the fact that Moo Ryong has a girlfriend already, and the head chef at the restaurant he works with, his girlfriend's restaurance, happens to be an acquaintance of Yoo Hee. There is also the thing between Yoo Hee and a previous upperclassman of hers, getting his attention was the reason she began the fake relationship to begin with. There is also the disapproving dad who tries to break them up and meddle in his daughters' affairs, among other small little tidbits that come up during the course of the drama.
The insert songs, put simply, started off ok, but quickly became annoying to hear all the time. Seeing Jae Hee in another drama and smooching another cute girl kinda irked me and made me a bit jealous wondering how he managed to land those roles. The plot was cute, but rather simple, with not much strength in the plot, it could have been a bit better plot-wise, but the plot itself didn't leave much room for that. Regardless, it was a nice little romance story, wasn't that bad, it's for the romantic crowd tho, not the soap opera complex storyline group :)

It Started with a Kiss aka ISWAK

Ok a little different, now the picture's teh link, i won't have that little text at the bottom.
Ok the drama that just about ever romance seeker has seen, it's one of the staple romance dramas, It Started With a Kiss. It's adapted from the japanese manga Itzaura no Kiss (mischevious kiss), and put into drama form by Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin.
Personally i wasn't as into it as i expected or as other people woulda expected. It's a nice story, but at the time i was watching it it seemed really cliche. I understand the romance, and it really does a well job, and i really believe that it was done wonderfully and that every romance drama fan should watch it. I just personally for some reason wasn't really crazy about this drama.
It's teh classic, person likes other person of opposite gender. The object of affection is this perfect person, smart, cute, the envy of everyone, basically, all the things the liker isn't. In this case, Joe Cheng plays a genius student that girls have a crush on and guys envy. Ariel Lin plays a lovestruck girl determined to marry him, but the problem is their first meeting is her confessing and being rejected. By sheer coincidence, which makes the plot a bit weak but seemed necessary for it to actually work, her house crumbles in an earthquake that destroys only their house (WTF?), and by more luck, her dad's close friend sees it and has them live and his house. Final coincidence, guess who's the son of the family friend? Yeap, they end up living together. Somehow, he turns out to actually like her, and all is good in the end, a definite feel good ending. It seems waht won him over was her persistence, but really there wasn't much to draw him to her, especially with other people who actually were better, at least in my opinion, than her. But of course, the very cute-ness lies in teh fact that despite her being the least likely candidate, he still chose her, so it makes the girls go AWW, and the manly men cringe in their stomachs at the utter cliche cuteness of it.
So with that, despite my personal lack of excitement for it, i still highly recommend it. On a side note, Joe Cheng's laugh is scary....and eeringly weird.

Seito Shokun

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Seito_Shokun!

yes i just pulled a fast one on you all :P, this is not on my list of things to watch hehehehe, i just randomly stumbled across it and decided to watch it. Not a marathon like proposal daisakusen, but still kinda, since it took me 2 days to watch 10 episodes. I recognized 2 people right off the bat, one being Horikita maki <3~ from nobuta wo produce. kurosagi, and hanazakatari no kimitachi e (wow that's a long name) fame :). Another one i noticed which isn't AS well known is hongo kanata, from the prince of tennis live action movie (yes i'm a tennis junkie so i saw it :3). But let's get to the meaty stuff, the stuff yer prolly looking for in this post.
The plot is one that will be familiar to just about everyone with any asian media experience. We have here a new teacher, so energetic full of life and innocent to the point they are not affected by the beauraucracy of educators who look only for themselves, no these are teachers who believe wholly in the students and care deeply for them. But their first class is a problematic one, who openly show their lack of appreciation for their teacher, who is an adult, part of the larger group of teachers, and even adults, who they feel have betrayed their trust and thus deserve only their detest. Sound familiar? GTO? Gokusen 1-3? Exactly, this story sounds VERY MUCH like those. A teacher with a student body that hates them so much they attempt and even manage to inflict bodily harm and emotional and psychological tactics on them. However, the teacher rather than gives up like the students wish, keeps loving them all the same until her persistence wins them over in a glorious climactic moment that tugs at the heart of many. Yes this is another drama like that, which if it's yer first one like this, you will love, or if you like these sorts of stories same. However, there are people too who have seen both who will think, "oh another GTO/Gokusen story, been there, seen that, old news". And i admit, it's a story done before, not much different except the circumstances with which the students detest the teacher.
As always the teacher knows the hardships they face, whether it be a former delinquent themselves as in GTO, or the actual heir to a Yakuza clan like in Gokusen, or in this case, having gone through the pain of having your mother forget about you and focus on a sibling who is terminally ill.
The students' story is one to feel sympathy over. A quick summary, the students blindly trust their homeroom teacher, who agrees to take them on a mountain hiking trip. All goes well until the teacher loses his way. Teacher panics and rather than try to help his students in his panic, his survival instincts take over and he takes the food from every student and leaves them behind. So shocked are the students that they just sit there in disbelief at what just happened, their teacher who they trusted and had promised to protect them, had just left them to die. Even better, the teacher had told a rescue crew the wrong location to hide that fact, so when the rescue team found them 2 days later, they were at a different place and the rescue crew assumed they had wandered soemwhere else rather than stay put as the teacher had told them. Of course this teacher is the minister of education's son so he doesn't want the fact his son did that to get out, so he uses his power to squash the rumors and make teh students out to be in the wrong and thus protect his image and his family's. Now imagine, these are middle school kids who have just had their protector abandon them to die, sitting there on a remote mountain with no food or anything, believing they are going to die, sitting there for 2 days, imagine the psychological trauma of that. Then even better when they are saved, they are not believed and teh facts are changed so they are in the wrong. These are middle school kids, it is hard to imagine why they have lost faith in the system, because it was that very system that betrayed them.
This is definately a stronger story than in GTO or Gokusen. In GTO, it was simply a student teacher relationship that was hidden, in Gokusen they were gangster-ish to begin with and the teachers resorted to punishment rather than listen to their side of the story, but in here, we have a genuine detest that is shared by many, this is a much better, at least i think, "hatred excuse" for the students to latch onto, because it is one that all of them have shared together and builds a stronger comraderie than the other two stores could muster. However, if it just stopped there, the story wouldn't be the one that i jsut finished, no there's more behind it ,especially behind the leader of 3TD, a student organization formed from taht class that takes care of any problems the class needs. She has her own personal demons that must be taken care of, and many of the students requre that as well. But their teacher is the amazing character, blindly believing them to the point they give in and realize this teacher is for them and will keep her promises or die trying.
the cast was well recognized, having Horikita maki, as shallow as it sounds, really helps bring interest to this drama, along with other cast members like Hongo Kanata and Uehara Misa (nodame cantabile, attention please). Musically, i didn't really get into the songs, except of course the insert/ending song My Generation by YUI <3~ (yes YUI is <3 also hehe)
It's another GTO/Gokusen story, but that still doesn't make it any less good, even if you have watched the others, give this one a try

Delightful Girl Choon Hyang

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Delightful_Girl_Choon_Hyang

Alright, another drama review so i can slowly catch up on all the ones i've seen @___@. Today's review will be on Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, a korean one in case you didn't guess already. There seems to be a theme for me that when i first started watching dramas i got REALLY into looking up ones to watch, but being the procrastinating me, i didn't watch many of them, so i have a big list piling up, you can see i have a list going, but taht's only the ones i remember so far, there's prolly so many more that i don't remember that should be on the list, it seems each time someone tells me to watch something i've already heard of it and either put it off, or the mention of it sparks a memory in my mind that i wanted to watch it. Either way, there's a vast list of dramas that i have in my head, but only a few taht i remember to watch, which is why i like it when people get back to me and talk about dramas.
ANYWAY, i'm digressing xD, so without further ado, let's get onto delightful girl choon hyang.
It's a relatively simple plot, one i can summarize pretty quickly. Boy meets girl in strange circumstances, boy n girl don't really like each other and get off to a bad start. Boy ends up accidentally sleeping in her bed (she was sick and sleeping, he was drunk). Town hears of it and so to save face they get married. Girl falls in love with guy, guy already has girl he likes. Girl is heartbroken and leaves, guy realizes he's in love with her, she hides it, eventually they admit they love each other. Insert plot twist in form of person who is in love with girl and now blackmails the two on their wedding day. Now we go a little into the future, guy n girl both have jobs and miss the other. At a wedding of the two's mutual friend they have a run-in when she accidentally scrapes his car, and the two manage to meet but still the blackmail material is out there so they can't be together. Meddling guy realizes there are some things he can't have, so he lets them be, happy ending.
Yes i know i made it really simple, but like i said the plot is kinda complex, but at the same time, still not altogether complicated. It's a very nice romance, one that i honestly enjoyed when i watched it. The music honestly didn't stand out to me, which i suppose becoems one of the major complaints i had about it, seeing as how music is one of the key requirements for a good drama. The cast though, is well done, with the guy an up and coming actor and the girl described by the media as the "barbie girl" of korea, with a figure and looks like a barbie girl. These two also happened to make a cameo appearance in my girl, which i am in the process of getting so i can watch so i'll get back to you all on that.
Romantically, this drama works the plot well, with great timing and ideas, such as having the classic girl-guy hate then fall in love, the past love of the guy that initially keeps them apart, the min climax where they confess but then a rift is opened up by an antagonist that really is nothing wrong but becomes evil due to his being in between the main focus of affection. In that aspect, the romance aspect is complete and worked to perfection. So the romantic in me is thoroughl satisfied and the ending gives you a feel good and explains a few things.
However, as a drama critic, i wanted more complexities, perhaps unjustifiably as the romance genre tends to go to the extremes, either being overtly cutesy, or complex. It had enough to pique my interest but i didn't find enough. I also look for unique plots, things not often done before, but this plot is a classic one, which is why it worked so well as a romance, using a tried and tested true method.

Despite my complaints about it, please do not think for a second this is a crappy drama, on the contrary i will recommend it highly to you and to anyone who looks for romantic dramas. It was popular for a reason and the statistics show, it got 24.4% viewership ratings, which is significant in korea, a land known for it's dramas. Although it did an old storyline, it worked it amazingly, which is why it deserves the kudos that i recieved. Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, lives up to it's name as truly a delight for those who watch it

Full House

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Full_House

Full House, and no not the american sitcom of the same name, this is a korean drama, and a pretty good one at that, or at least, it gets my vote.
Ok, so here's the normal schpeil, what is this drama all about?
Well, first off what an interesting pair of friends this main character has. We have, Han Ji Eun, a writer of stories seemingly set in her life, with a nice house and nothing really to complain about. However, life seems to have a interesting twist in store in the form of her friends, although, and please excuse my cliche, with friends like them, who needs enemies? These friends are a couple who happen to be about to have a child, but without money, what can they do? They decide a daring, foolish, and outright immoral act. They take their friend, pretend that she's won a vacation to Hong Kong, and send her off. Interesting thing tho is, the only legit thing is her airplace ticket TO (note i only said to) Hong Kong, the hotel reservation is bogus and she brought no money with her under the premise everything was provided for. So she's in Hong Kong so what? Well that question is answered when she manages to get home. She comes "home" to find out, it's been stolen and sold, who got the money? Well her loving friends of course, to pay off their debts and provide for their soon to come baby. Oh what awesome friends. Oh her house happened to be sold to an up and coming actor, Lee Young Jae who coincidentally was the same one who helped her get back and also happened to throw up on on her plane ride to Hong Kong (coincidences anyone?). She meets lots of people, and slowly gets caught up in alot of trouble. For one, the actor is insecure about his love, he likes someone but knows she likes someone else, so he pretends to marry Han Ji Eun to get the girl of his affections' attention. Who is this other guy? Well it's a person Han Ji Eun meets in Hong Kong and eventually falls in love with Han Ji Eun (wow, this drama really is depending on so many chance meetings).
All would seem well tho, they make a contract (a obvious sign that later there will be love, it always ALWAYS happens when there's a contract) that they will pretend to be married and keep out of each others' lives and divorce after a certain amount of time, after which Han Ji Eun will get her house back. But of course, this wouldn't be a romance if the fake marriage turns to love, first she falls for him, but he is so unknowing about love that he doesn't realize it until later and even then fails to show it. And of course his friend falls for Han Ji Eun, but the girl who Young Jae likes actually likes the person who likes Han Ji Eun, so we have a nice complex love....mess, going on in this drama. For the romantics who want sweet moments, this will not disappoint, as it certainly didn't me, but the drama critic in me complained at the lack of a more complex plot, but of course this is a romance, often times complexity must be sacrificed for it. The music is decent, the cast is great with Bi Rain and Song Hye Gyo of My Girl and I fame.
With a romance, a contract and fake marriage that soon will be put to the test and suddenly become real, will they find happiness or will this whole mess blow apart? I won't spoil the ending, so you'll have to watch it if i've hooked you and sold you on the idea =3

Proposal Daisakusen

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Proposal_Daisakusen

Alright, i just finished this one, so while it's still fresh in my mind i must write my thoughts.
First of all, i'm blown away by the idea of this drama, the plot is just amazing. We have here the classic childhood friends, but this guy never confessed to his friend, and even now it seems it is now too late. The drama starts at a wedding, her wedding. For 14 years, Iwase Ken has loved his friend, but never mustered the courage to tell her. He has regretted how he handled the relationship between him, and wishes he could go back to change it. When a slideshow starts up and he sees the picture, he remembers seeing the girl, Yoshida Rei, and knowing she was sad, and an overwhelming wish to go back and change it starts up. As this emotion boils up, the lights dim save for a single spotlight blinding him. In the background you hear "Hallelujah Hallelujah" (yeah that song), and a man appears asking if he wants to go back, and what he wants to do. So with the expression of his desire, he returns, but with the condition he has only until the time when the picture was taken to change the past. He ends up having several such chances, one for each picture in the slide show.
It seems that the final climax, the great ending, is that he changes his past enough and musters up the courage given the second chance, to confess and be the one at the wedding and be with Rei for the rest of his life.
Well i can tell you, the ending is not what it seems. When i saw this, i thought that it would end up like that, and that this would be a nice cute romance. I can say i was wrong, but not disappointed at how things turned out. I quickly opened my mind to the chance that something else could occur, and as the progressed that idea seemed more and more feasible.
I am not disappointed at the result for it is still a wonderful and magnificent and novel plot to work from. It is a story of growth and maturity and learning. Ken learns that rather than regret the past and try to change the past so the present will be different, one really experiences and finds miracles by taking the present and preparing for the future. Ken grows from a man with the past haunting him like inner demons to a man at peace with himself who can face himself and the girl he never could have. There is so much more that this drama offers, and in a way i am glad it ended up not being some simple romance. Although my romantic self would have liked a different ending, one more clear cut, the slightly cliffhanger ending suited the theme well, and the development was superbly done.
In terms of connecting to the audience, i can say this captivated me and brought me along for the ride. I found myself agonizing over ken's inability to express himself, and rejoicing at his slow maturation, and seeing him do the thigns he never could do the first time. I laughed when he did, cried for him when he messed up, i truly felt a part of it. I think that is really an irreplacable quality that good dramas MUST possess. It is nice to watch a story unfold, but unless you feel a part of it, unless it has that quality that reaches out to you and drags you along for the ride, to experience it just as they do, then it really cannot stand up to those that do.
Musically, there was only 2 main insert songs, one rock-ish, the other the instrumentals i love so dearly, and they were also well done. It seems a major theme with me, the importance of music. Without music it is too simple, but with the addition of music, it becomes so much more, so much more dramatic and meaningful. The acting is well done with a nice cast, namely 3 people i recognize off the bat. One was Mizuno-sensei from 1 litre (oh this has to be good they brought in 1 litre people), Yamapi from Nobuta wo produce (seeing him here was weird since i always will see him as akira from NWP), and a guy who played a friend of the male lead in Taiyou No Uta drama. So the cast has its well known people. It has awards to back it up, especially best drama and best theme song at 1 drama awards ceremony, and won best drama, actor and actress, both main and supporting, cementing what i have just said that the music and cast were solid.
Also do not think i am spoiling you, there is so much that happens that i cannot begin to put into words, the plot can be as deep or as superficial as you want, you can see only the plot, but also if you can look deeper you see a man changed, a man who by the end is completely different, he walks differently, stands taller, is more confident, but it's not apparent, but you can sense he is different, that he has grown up, and is ready for the daunting task and goal he seeks to achieve, more so at the end than he would have been at the beginning.
Truly a wonderful experience, it had to have been if i spent my whole day watching it all, yes 11 eps plus a special in 1 day :)

9.5/10 (a hesitant 9.5, i'd just as easily give it a 10)

edit: scratch that, this gets a 10 now
i just watched the special episode and i can say now i have nothing i can really complain about anymore. any things that slightly bothered me (which were few btw), were resolved completely with this episode, i honestly am speechless, i just might have honestly found a new favorite drama. Now it really has everything, it has the serious growth and maturity plot, the classic romance, a satisfying conclusion.

Nobuta Wo Produce

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Nobuta_wo_Produce

Nobuta Power, chuu-nyuu, and with those words, you will be re-energized and stronger. Romance seekers need not apply, this is not a cutesy romance, there isn't really much love, and any affection is either fake or short lived. No this is not the fuzzy warm lovey dovey story, but far from it this is an amazing plot. We have here Kotani Nobuko, a girl shattered, she has spent her whole life scarred by her past, constant bullying, to the point she feels she doesn't belong in this world. We have Kiritani Shuji, the most popular kid in school, but all is not as it seems with him. He walks viewing life as a game, and his popularity as a challenge that he has mastered, to the point he knows what to say when, and plans his moves like a grandmaster of chess. And finally we have Kusano Akira, a distant aloof boy, the direct polar opposite of Shuji. Together Akira and Shuji aim to have a little fun and undertake a task noone else has done before. They intend to take Nobuko, nicknamed Nobuta, and make her into the most popular kid in school. To see their plan along the way is mildly interesting, they attempt to take advantage of all they can, from using the school rules in their favor to put Nobuta in a better light, to using the school fair to influence everyone into realizing Nobuta's ability, to getting her on dates and even on the school tv show where everyone can see her, to help increase her popularity.
On the surface, the plot is simple, transform a girl always bullied and looked down upon, and make one of the most drastic changes ever, take her from the bottom all the way to the top of the social ladder. But if that was all, this drama wouldn't even be 1/2 of what it is. No, that's a mere superficial plot, the real story goes on slighlt behind the scenes. While Shuji trys to help Nobuta becoenm popular with his knowledge oh how it's done, Shuji doesn't realize that Nobuta and even Akira become the catalyst for his maturation. In his attempt to view life as a game, the game turns on him. His fake popularity that he works hard to build comes crashing down when his true colors are shown, and he must rebuild himself from the bottom up and try to show them the real him. It is a classic teacher becomes the student, and the student surpasses the teacher scenario.
The drama that swept the Television Academy Awards of Drama, winning best actor, supporting actress, best drama, best musical score, best director, best script, this is certainly one you should not miss. Another noteworthy thing to add is, if you have read my thoughts on 1 litre you know how brilliant i see that drama, well that drama aired at the same time this one did, and yet look which drama won the awards, that's something worth noting.
Musically it obviously is superb, the soundtrack, writted by Yoshihiro Ike is breathtaking, and the piece green willow, not only in orchestral, but piano and guitar forms, is a wonderful melody, soothing and peaceful, yet you can sense an underlying strength within the notes. The plot keeps oyu interested, especially with the tremendous development they show in the characters and how they change and grow and learn. This drama is sound in plot, has great actors, thus it has a solid base to become an amazing drama, which it did.
Inspiration, this has plenty, so enjoy, you will leave this one slightly different and better than you came in

10/10

Devil Beside You

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Devil_Beside_You

Yes, even the taiwanese can make good dramas. Devil Beside You is actually quite cutesy in terms of romance, but it is also different in a way. The romance storyline is quite cliche and sterotypical, it's a sibling romance, but they're not really siblings...at least not yet. There are several plot twists, like their parents coincidentally becoming engaged, the two initially not liking each other but then realizing they cannot live without the other, and will fight for their love regardless of who ends up hurt, it's a determination.
There are several plot twists, the parents getting married which makes their love forbidden, several people getting in the way, internal conflicts, it seems that they just keep coming.
Rainie Yang did a pretty good job, and sang the insert songs, which have become a staple to my iPod listening playlists. So musically, it's a-ok. Actor-wise it's covered as well. Rainie Yang does well, and Mikey He is a proven actor when it comes to dramas, and is an established hottie with a successful modelling career. The plot keeps you sticking, wondering waht will happen next, and it's 20 episodes so there's enough time for ample plot and character and relationship development.
I give this drama a 8/10, for it's enjoyable but slightly cliche plot and plot twists

Taiyou no Uta

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Taiyo_no_Uta

A girl who comes out only after sunset, a guy who enjoys nothing more than to go to the beach at the break of dawn and surf. These two should not have met, but already fate has connected these two people. A girl inspired to become an artist in the time she has left, a boy who hid away his music because of the pain and memories of it. Fate brings these two together, people from opposite worlds, to change both of their lives forever.
Sawajiri Erika returns from her brilliance in 1 litre of tears to once again play a sick girl with an incurable disease (i mean seriously, can't she do more than that?). She is joined by Yamada Takayuki famous from another sad drama, Sekai no Chuushin de Ai wo Sakebu. It's a refreshing tale, and a nice relationship chart. I admist sawajiri erika did a brilliant part playing a girl with an incurable disease but seriously, i think she can do more than play sick girls. It was a great performance, and sawajiri erika surprised me with her singing, she did a pretty good job considering she hadn't really been known for singing, and she looked stunning (darn you takayuki for stealing a kiss from her xD).
In all tho, this was a good job done, the ending initially bothered me as it is quite saddening and cruel, but it is effective.

there was also a movie version of this with YUI in it <3, it's good too although it didn't have as much time as the drama to develop things, the songs are better IMO

8.5/10

Densha Otoko

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Densha_Otoko

A romance truly everyone can connect to. It is the (supposedly true) story of an otaku, someone with obsessive interests, often anime and manga, as the person in this story is. He is at a status that the society in Japan consider less than normal, but it seems fate is kind to even people such as this. The basic story is that as he is going home from a day at Akihabara, the otaku capital of Japan, he sees a beautiful woman being harassed by a drunk. Summoning some courage, he stands up for her and tells him to stop. This act apparently inspires the woman, and she sends him a thank you gift, an expensive brand name tea set by Hermes, later labelling her as Hermes. The otaku, having never been in a relationship or have any experience with this panics and goes to an online forum (incidentally and ironically, it turns out to be a place populated by single people and otakus themselves) for help. This drama chronicles the story of a man inspired by a woman to change his ways and grow. You can see his evolution from an otaku to something more, a real person who is capable of love, who finds a dream and does waht he can to realize it.
The apparently true nature of this is confirmed by the producers who supposedly contacted the man (who actually had posted the story and it had occurred on the japanese forum 2-chan). This drama is not only of the romantic kind, but inspirational as well. Not only does it give you the warm feeling inside of seeing someone fall in love, you as a person might be inspired as well. Seeing an otaku who people normally ignore, seeing him get his own shot and taking it, doing whatever he can because of the enormity and importance is inspiring. It is laden with nice moments, such as when he first decides to try for this, he admits that "he's a pitiful person, his hands are shaking holding the phone, he wants to change", you see, it shows us that even he can find love, it's not impossible for you, if you want it hard enough and express your desire.
Densha Otoko, winner of the 46th television drama academy awards for best drama, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, musical arrangement, opening, yeah it won a fair bit so you know it's good, and i can personally vouch for this drama, it is truly a wonderful work.

Densha Otoko 9/10

Great Teacher Onizuka

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Great_Teacher_Onizuka

from the manga to the drama to the anime, yes, this was a drama before it became a hit anime. Great Teacher Onizuka is here, to save you from the boredom of your life and teach you life lessons in a way only he can.
I honestly didn't know that this existed, as i first started with animes but once i got into dramas i had to see this, to compare. I can say that once i finished it, i found that i loved this so much more than the anime. Sure, the anime is longer, so more is in it, more time for character development and plot, but the drama has its own charms and the acting was second to none. From the get go cheery music plays, you can tell something's good, then it zooms in on Onizuka Eikichi 22 years old and single, BUT OMG WHERE'S TEH BLONDE HAIR? (sorry, anime influences :P)
but takashi sorimachi was breath taking, his acting was superb and convincing, and c'mon the dude sang the opening song, if that's not Badass i don't know what is. it was nice to see him win over his students, although they took out my favorite character from the anime, kanzaki urumi. However regardless, sorimachi plays a convincing Onizuka, although i liked the gangster attitude of his anime/manga counterpart, Takeshi is a slightly less violent and more heartfelt character, with a better sense of humanity, while the drawn character was more obviously (and forgive my choice of words) animated, and entertaining, takeshi brings a sense of himanity and realism to Onizuka in a way i had never seen, in and a good way which i liked
fuyutski was also well plated by matsushima nanako and there's a nice little extra that made this drama oh so sweeter. while the on screen romance was cute enough, what sweetens the deal is the off screen romance that budded. not only in the story did the two hook up, but after they met on set, they dated and eventually married and had a kid, now how's that for a picture perfect romance story?
romance, comedy, life lessons, feel good moments, this drama has it all. while it fails to develop like the anime much less the manga, i found i enjoyed the result much more in this than the anime, which was kinda cliffhanger and opposite waht i wanted, but still good, and as i have not finished the manga i cannot comment on that, however, i have no regrets for supporting this drama and i highly recommend it

8/10

1 litre of tears

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ichi_Rittoru_no_Namida

ok i just HAD to write about this drama, it was my first major one and even still after about 2-3 years of watching dramas, it's still my favorite by far.
The basic plot revolves around Ikeuchi Aya who is diagnosed with spinocerebrellar ataxia, a disease that is not only uncurable but quite cruel. Essentially the cells that aid in smooth movement, like the cerebellum, and the spinal cord, they degrade. The effect, higher thinking is unaffected, the only thing tha really changes is the ability to move properly. As described in the drama, you will tell your arm to move, but it won't, you will want to do something, but you can't do it no matter how much you want to. obviously this is not an immediate effect, it is gradual but definite that you will be rendered unable to move, unable to speak. So waht else is there? Well Ikeuchi Aya was, in the drama, a basketball player with plenty of potential, she was able to make the main team in highschool even tho she was only a freshman, she had been able to get into a prestigious high school, so it seemed life was going well. But her mom notices something's wrong, she stumbles more, has problems judging distance. When faced with this, she showed tremendous courage, despite the certainty of what her future would be like, she still stood strong, sure she cried, but she showed tremendous courage and optimism. When she was first being diagnosed, she was told to write every day, and write every day she did, until she could no longer hold teh pen she wrote. Wrote her story, wrote words to encourage her, words that proved that at that moment, she was still alive. As her mom said to her when Aya had at one point broken down, aya has said "Mom, there's nothing left for me to do, nothing at all", her mom replied with words that struck me, "Aya, you still have your words, other people would have given up, but look at all of this, these are your words, this is your story, yo ustill have this", Aya would even say later, that her mom had given her a reason to live.
This was an amazing drama, in my mind, it is perfect, there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING, that can improve it. Sawajiri Erika players her role to perfection, and with stunning and amazing accuracy, you truly buy into her acting, truly believe that she is impaired, so bone chillingly realistic is her performance. The music is first class, made by Sumusu Ueda with insert songs by Remioroumen. The insert songs are well timed and placed, rising and falling in unison with the action, swelling to increase and heighten the emotion, and lowering to give you some relief from the tragedy. The title is well named, i truly cried, i connected, and i left this drama a different person than i came. Watching made me realize the fragility of life, the importance of having dreams, and the utmost need to never give up. I gained courage from aya, as fictional as Ikeuchi Aya was, i connected, i cried with the family, i rode their highs and lows with them.
I cannot stress enough, or put into words waht this drama means to me. Dramas may be good with one view, but i believe the hallmark of a truly amazing drama, the meterstick by which the best are measured by, is the difference of the person who starts it with the person who finishes it. You will not leave this drama the same, it will grasp for your heart and not let go. It is heart wrenching, it is depressing at times, but it is also inspiring. If you leave a drama changed, if weeks later, even months later, it still grips you, then you have found a truly wonderful drama. This, is one such drama.
As hard as it may be for some to watch, as depressing and sad and just cruel it can be at times, endure, watch, this is something no person should miss, i wish everyone in the world can see this, and that it have the same effect on them it had on me.

i'd give it a 10/10, but a 10 doesn't do it justice enough
no more can be said. if a picture's worth a thousand words, this drama is worth a whole leatherbound book. watch it, as strange as this may sound, you have to

Shimokita Glory Days

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Shimokita_GLORY_DAYS

so i just finished watching a drama called Shimokita Glory Days, which was based on a manga series of the same name.
personally i wasn't crazy about it, to me it used an already used plot, which is the harem one. right from the start and the introduction the main male lead makes, i thought Love Hina. Here's the basics, Oona Yuuta is a ronin student, 20 years old (Urashima Keitarou anyone?), he moves to tokyo to not only be closer to his girlfriend named Minori, but also to get away from his parents who want him to inherit their resaurant business. So he needs a place to stay and finds an ad for a share house, essentially several people share the rent but keep out of each others' business. So it seems things go ok right? Wrong, he ends up in a share house occupied by 5 other women: a fashon designer (28), a beautician (24), an aspiring actress(21), an aspiring writer/english major in college (19), and another ronin (20), all of whom are quite pretty (i can vouch for this fact). Essentially he is allowed because they were looking for an innocent person who wouldn't take advantage of them to do the housework and stuff (still sounds like urashima keitarou), but it is his innocent nature that everyone in the house falls in love with and cause them to fight over him with each other. Personally i was jealous the male lead, he's not that good looking, but it's always the normal or even in my opinon in this case, sub par appearance, people who mab the pretty girls. Beware tho, this is a rated 18+ due to the immense fanservice and nudity involved. Just about every female actress is either a gravure idol, AV idol, or both, which explains why they're all stunning. Acting-wise, they seem lacking, but for most of them save the actress for minori, they don't have much real acting experience (adult videos don't require taht much acting people). Thus, the acting was decent but could have been done better, the plot is an unoriginal one and seemed somewhat rushed, when more time should have been taken for things to develop and happen properly. although it has a nice feel good ending, some people might not stick with it due to the poor quality of it, it's a drama that has much to be improved.

i'll give it a 6 out of 10