J-Drama that are still good, even now
Yamada Taro Monogatari
Rewatching old jdrama on my hard drive made me think how some series stood the test of time. Some of the shows were as interesting and fun than on the first viewing. I thought I would list some of the ones that are still good, even now.
Who is in it?
Now, if you're an Arashi fan, watching Yamada Taro Monogatari was probably high on your list considering that 2 members are the leads. Ninomiya Kazunari plays the title character while Sakurai Sho plays Mimura Takuya. Actress Tabe Mikako plays Ikegami Takako the other lead of the drama.
What is it about?
Yamada Taro is the eldest of 7 children with an absentee artist father and a selfish head-in-the-cloud mother. He is singled handedly taking care of his sibblings acting as their parent/sole caretaker Yamada is also a brillant student and is top of his class at a rich academy that Mimura and Ikegami also attend. Mimura is a lonely, rich Ikebana heir who find himself intrigued by Yamada while Ikegami mistakenly think that Yamada is a prince and her only chance to marry rich.
What's good about it?
It's a light comedy despite how frustrating Yamada's parents are and how annoying some of the secondary characters are. Sho's look of love is famous as most of his acting relies on him looking fondly at Nino (which was probably extremely easy for Sho to do). Ikegami, as the heroine, can be annoyingly dense, especially at the beginning. The actress manage to redeem her at times. It features one of Arashi's most energetic, catchy song "Happiness". The developping friendship between Taro and Mimura is the highlight. Also all of the costumes (like Nino as a maid in the episode 2). The friendship between Ikegami and her friend were also some of the parts that I liked.
What's bad about it?
The parents. If it wasn't for Taro being an extremely responsible and dedicated big brother, child services would have been there ages ago. The romance/love triangle between the main teacher, the other teacher/temple caretaker and a smug university researcher is bland. Believe me when I say that I fastforwarded most of thoses parts.
To learn more about it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamada_Tar%C5%8D_Monogatari#Japanese_TV_drama
Yeah, I've know all about this since 2007. Where are the fics?
JDrama don't tend to have a whole lot of fic written about them, unfortunately. But there have been a few written about this one that are still available to read. I've round up a few of my favourites, but I will add links and more later on.
Obvious- Maayacola (found on AO3) one of my favourite fic for YamadaTaro
Destiny Calling- Ciircee (found on Dreamwidth) also one of my favourite
Sunbeams- Tani (found on LJ)
Two of a Kind by Emothy (found on AO3, a cute crossover with Hana Yori Dango)