25 Dramas I watched this year...
Howdy folks and welcome to my 2009 Drama Year in Review. I was inspired to do this when scanky_chops put up her 2009 Jdrama poll and I realized that I really didn't like much of what came out this year. Yet, I remembered really liking other things. A lot of what I enjoyed happened to have aired during previous years, but since I watched it during the course of 2009 those are included in this personal countdown from WORST to BEST.
I haven't included the dramas I dropped (MY FAIR LADY, ugh) or those that I haven't finished (Liar Game 2, IRIS, Smile You, and Shokojo Seira) despite how much I might like them. Nor have I included movies. I have included two SPs since they allowed me the nice number of 25 total dramas watched. Without further ado, my 2009 Drama Countdown.
25
ZETTAI KARESHI SP
What it all boils down to is that I just need to stop watching drama specials. I always get so excited and I am ALWAYS disappointed. The Zettai Kareshi SP was no exception (and as I type this I realized that I left the Hana Kimi SP off this list, so we'll just say it was a tie). It was just a dull re-tread of a series I enjoyed initially. Nothing new was brought to the table and nothing changed. There was absolutely no purpose other than to try and squeeze some more TV ratings out of the series. Completely pointless.
24
BYAKKOTAI
It's a little difficult for me to judge this SP as I watched it over the course of about a year. As a result I honestly had no idea why the different sides were fighting in the first place. I'm sure it had something to do with different groups wanting to be in power, blah blah blah. What I do remember is that they sent a group of 16 year old boys out to fight a battle they KNEW they would lose. I think we all know how this ends. Visually it was well shot, but I couldn't bring myself to care about the story.
23
LONG VACATION
What a disappointment this was. I wasn't quite sure what to expect because people seem pretty divided on this 'classic' drama. Some LOVE it, others find it dull as dirt. I'm in the latter category. It's not that I don't enjoy slice of life dramas, I enjoyed Triple a great deal. I thought Minami and Sena were a good couple but I didn't give two shakes about the rest of the cast. I really wanted to like it, but the story never clicked with me.
22
ATASHINCHI NO DANSHI
This is the kind of drama that you enjoy while you're watching it for all of its insanity, but when it's over you realize you haven't actually watched anything of substance. AnD is drama candy, it's all bright and shiny and gets you hyper, but you feel kind of crappy afterwards because you watched something so completely pointless. Enjoyable, but empty. Though, it was the first role that I've really liked Maki in since Nobuta.
21
MEI-CHAN NO SHITSUJI
Mei-chan is a lot like Atadan for me, it's a very silly ride but doesn't actually have a point. I'm not even entirely sure why I rank it above Atadan, since I really didn't enjoy the second half of the series. In a way, Atadan was a little more nonsensical? In Mei-chan, it was all over the top, especially the deliciously ridiculous evil villains, something Atadan didn't take time for in it's quest to have its characters in the silliest of situations. Mei-chan did start to take itself a little to seriously in the second half, which I didn't think meshed well with the tone it had set earlier.
20
RYUSEI NO KIZUNA
Guys, this could have been SO good. I loved how they structured all the little stories (and cons) within the story. It was fun to see the siblings work together and I loved the flashbacks. What didn't work for me was the resolution to the mystery of their parents murder. It felt rather anticlimactic, they just couldn't sustain the strength of the storytelling all the way through.
19
LOVE SHUFFLE
There are so many people on my flist that love this drama I feel kind of bad ranking it so low. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, it just never really clicked with me. It never got to that level where I really, truly cared about what happened to the characters. Their interactions were fun (pajama parties!) and it's not that they weren't fleshed out characters. They were all interesting people, but I just never got invested in what happened to them.
18
KAREI NARU SPY
After My Fair Lady this was my biggest drama disappointment of the year. I was so looking forward to it. Unlike My Fair Lady, which was boring from the get-go, Karei naru Spy got off to a great start. Sure, it was silly and fun like my lower ranked dramas Atashinchi no Danshi and Mei-chan, but the humor was crisp and self-aware. It was a great send-up of the spy genre (with bonus Nagase!), but then the second half came and the wind just left the sails. It was dead in the water because it lost the heart that made it so fun. They tried to bring in some drama, which would have been fine if they had done it well. DOn't bring in tragic backstories and then never explain them, it's irritating.
17
MR BRAIN
To be fair, this really shouldn't be ranked so high as it wasn't actually all that spectacular. What it did give me though, was an introduction to Kimura Takuya. MR BRAIN was all shine and polish with nothing below the surface. It had silliness and high-tech gadgets and was overall entertaining. But if I'm able to figure out the explanations to that week's mysteries before the cast, there is something wrong. There were some glimpses of brilliance, like the arc that featured Nakama Yukie. But as with most of the series, the build up was great. The payoff was lacking.
16
EXHIBITION OF FIREWORKS
OH THIS SHOW. I'm a little biased when it comes to this drama because I invested so much time in doing recaps of it. I had an awesome time doing said recaps, but as a result I got way more invested in the characters than I should have. Everything they did effected me greatly because I was paying such close attention. The problem was that the entire cast was a bunch of immature morons. What started as a fun love story degraded into lots of lying, crying, and babies (OK, just one of those). It got so annoyed with everyone by the end I just wanted it to be over, but I still remember it fondly because I'm a crazy person.
15
BUZZER BEAT
It pains me to say that this was my favorite jdrama that aired in 2009 because it is really lacking in several areas. What it did give us was a darling love story between two very nice people. I'm a sap, so that's all I need (probably why I love Smile, You so much). Apparently it's also about basketball, but it takes place in the offseason so it's barely a factor. The characters aren't particularly well drawn and the plot is kind of non-existant (very, very similar to Long Vacation in that regard), but it is sweet and cute. The last couple episodes drag with needless drama given the technology age we live in, but there is a decent kiss and several excellent hugs.
14
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL
Honestly, I do not get the rabid fan base this drama has acquired. Maybe I'm just getting to old (hold on, let me put in my teeth so I can properly complain about youngsters today). It's a prefectly fine show and it has some excellent humor and some honestly emotionally effective scenes, but it isn't brilliant. It isn't the be all and end all of dramas. Tae-Kyung is one of the most interesting characters I've watched this year, but Mi-nam is one of worst female characters I've come across EVER. She behaves as though she is an eight year old and she's supposedly in her twenties, it is aggravating. Still, I liked it as a whole.
13
A MILLION STARS FALLING FROM THE SKY
After Mr Brain, I had to watch more dramas with Kimutaku. This drama was sold to me on the basis that IT WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE. Yeah, that wasn't the case. It was a perfectly decent psychological thriller with a wonderfully complicated villain/anti-hero/hero in Kimura's Ryo and a sweet, but disturbing love story. There were suprises, some I saw coming from a mile away, others not so much. You are never sure who to believe or who to root for, and the climax is pretty spectacular.
12
RETURN OF ILJIMAE
This drama had a lot of elements poised to make it truly magnificent: excellent cinematography and a story that never let up. Seriously, there is always something happening to Iljimae and there really is never a dull moment during the run of the series. But one giant factor against it was the grating narration, I just couldn't stand it. It goes back to the old advice to always get when writing "Show, don't tell". RoI did a LOT of telling and it was distracting. Don't act like the audience is full of morons, we'll catch on if you give us a chance. The other issue I had was with the love story, I understand that Iljimae cared more for his country than he ever could for a single person, but don't turn a strong woman into a weepy sad sack because he isn't around. Still, it's a beautiful show.
11
TRIPLE
Triple could have been in the same boat with Long Vacation given it's slice of life approach to storytelling. It probably isn't for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It cared more for Haru and Hwal than I ever did about Minami and Sena. Several of the secondary characters annoyed me, but it wasn't too bad. Triple allows you a glimpse into the lives of these people and their daily struggles and you learn to love and care for (most of) them.
10
BOYS OVER FLOWERS
Again, another drama that kind of blinds me to the faults it has because I associate it with such wonderful things. Unlike YAB, I was madly in love with BOF in the beginning. I though it was fantastic, so when the waters got murky in the second half I was more forgiving. Besides, how can you had a show that caused such an uproar in fandom, people went nuts and all the commentary and hilarious gifs made it all worthwhile. Everything to do with this show was just so much fun. I don't think I'd ever watch it again, but the first experience was a pretty good one.
9
A SLEEPING FOREST
I wrestled for a while trying to decide if I like this of A Million Stars better, but in the end this won out. The mystery was more mysterious and played a greater role throughout the entire series in comparison to A Million Stars, which kind of meandered its way to the good parts. A Million Stars was also a little heavy-handed with the imagery, which can get annoying. A Sleeping Forest keeps you guessing the entire time by carefully dishing out new pieces of information. You feel like you are part of the story as you try and figure out what happened as Minako gains back her memories.
8
WHO ARE YOU?
This drama was just too cute. You may be put off initially by the description as the male lead in inhabited by the spirit of the father of the female lead for a few hours a day, but it never even gets close to creepy territory. Instead it is in turn a wonderful story about restablishing the relationship between a father and daughter and a sweet love story between that daughter and the icy businessman her father teaches to become a better person. Wonderful work by all the actors, but most credit has to go to Yoon Kye-Sang who does as spectacular job playing two characters in one body. The only fault here is that the story tends to drag in bits.
7
TOGETHER
It's kind of like a self-insertion fanfic, a love story between a washed-up pop idol and an otaku, but it's adorable. Mars may see himself as the cool rockstar, but it's painfully apparent that he's a giant dweeb. And Momo may be a little awkward around people, but she is as strong a character as I've ever come across in a drama. There are twists and turns in their relationship, and it drags a bit in the end when they are really stretching for things to happen, but as a whole the entire series is just. too. cute. Seriously, if you need a pick me up, check this out.
6
HOTARU NO HIKARI
This show is kind of brilliantly funny. The highlight of the drama is obviously Hotaru's relationship with her boss. They are too hilarious together, and bring out the best in each other. For Hotaru that is her inner grown-up and for him it is his inner child. They are too perfect together, which is why it annoyed me that so much time was spent her her relationship with some other dude.
5
TIGER & DRAGON
Talk about clever storytelling. MAN. A lot of thought went into the structure of this drama, with each episode being a story within a story within a story. And each one is truly hilarious. Fantastic acting by Nagase and Okada. I just can't say enough nice things about this show. I only wish I was more familiar with classic Japanese stories so I could better appreciate the intricacies.
4
PAINTER OF THE WIND
This is much like Return of Iljimae in that it is completely gorgeously shot with an engrossing story. But it is without the grating narration and character issues I had with Return of Iljimae. Everything that every character does I understand the reasoning behind and as a result I was much more invested in the fate of all the players. It striked with all weapons from humor to heartbreaking sadness. I only wish it hadn't dragged quite as much as it did.
3
PRIDE
This show is amazing, I really don't think I could ever understand anyone not liking it. It's so fun watching the relationship between playboy Halu and traditional Aki develop. Like the best love stories, they make each other a better and stronger person. Through is some good comedy, angst, and a Queen theme song and you have yourself a winner. I just take issue with something in the end, but it wasn't enough to ruin the high this drama gave me.
2
HONG GIL DONG
This drama gave me the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. There is so much I love about this show, from the adorable love story to the fantastic characters and bright wardrobe. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think. It was so very close to being my favorite drama EVER. But, it also made me very, very angry. I still maintain that the ending was a cheap ploy for emotions.
1
BARA NO NAI HANAYA
It kills me that I never watched this drama until now. I saw the first episode when it aired and then set it aside. Such a mistake. SUCH. A. MISTAKE. This is a delightful story about the relationships between people and reached a level not attained by anything else I watched this year. It's a quiet drama, not at bright and flashy as what people are normally drawn to (*cough*YouAreBeautiful*cough*), but if you are looking for an extremely well-written and very well-acted drama - WATCH THIS.