With so much extra time on my hands this year, I got through loads of J-drama! That’s a lie of course, as I marathoned a bunch this month just so this wasn’t barebones. Come read if they were trash or not!
Whether you want tower block murder mysteries, successful scam artists or giant monsters beating the stuffing out of each other, you’re in luck because J-drama has it all. Here’s a look at what I watched this year.
After somehow making it through a disastrous interview, Hanako Yukimaru is now an employee at HHTV, a news broadcaster in Hokkaido. Her eccentric and ditzy personality were enough to get her the job, but will it be enough to keep her there?
colons makes some recommendations about films you may or may not want to watch
Whether you want Sherlock adaptations, mothers becoming politicians or comically-sized handguns, J-drama has it all. Here’s a look at what I watched this year.
Who needs The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones? We’ve got shows about ten-way affairs, detectives with magic eyes and at least two shows that give the Ace Attorney games a run for their money. Here’s what I watched this year.
Akio has fond memories of playing Final Fantasy III with his dad as a child. Many years later the two have grown distant, rarely talking to each other even though they live in the same house. With his dad quitting his job and retiring to everyone’s surprise, Akio hatches a plan to get the two on good terms again. Akio will go on adventures with his dad in Final Fantasy XIV, while pretending to be a stranger. Only after beating Twintania together will he reveal who he’s been travelling with.
Shin Michima is a published author with a few books to his name, but his unpopularity has shattered his confidence. He returns home after grocery shopping to discover that five women have been invited to live in his house, by someone unknown, for a million yen in rent per month, per person.
Tabito Higurashi runs a small but successful detective agency that specialises in finding lost items. Even though he has lost every sense besides sight, he is helped greatly by his ability to see emotions.
Working late? Need some company? Come to the Midnight Diner for a couple of drinks and a chat.
A shinigami drops a killer notebook down to Earth and a teenager decides to become judge, jury and executioner. You know the one.
Having both found peace with their unrequited feelings, Hanabi and Mugi agree to confess to their respective crushes, get rejected and move on, but things don’t exactly go according to plan. Meanwhile, Sanae reunites with her cousin for a bizarre round of romance counseling.
For both Moca and Hanabi, going on a boring date with an insufferable jackass turns out to be the perfect antidote to their twisted pride. Whether that’s a good thing, however, that’s a whole other question.
In spite of the easier solace they’ve found in the arms of others, Hanabi and Mugi fail to let each other go as Akane’s manipulations of the two grow ever more blatant. Torn apart by the risk of losing the tree people she cares about the most, Hanabi asked Mugi to take their relationship to the next level.
Her mask of wholesome innocence shattered, Akane sets Kanai up to profess his love to her before Hanabi’s eyes. Scared to confront Mugi with his beloved’s vicious true nature, Hanabi decides to risk her friendship with Sanae in search of relief.
Struggling to cope with Sanae’s confession, Hanabi runs back to Mugi, who has his own sexual frustrations to deal with. Things get complicated even further when the couple runs into Akane during a frustrated late-night date.
There’s no better way to avoid the drama of 2016 than by watching drama. And hey, it was a decent year for foreign J-drama fans. Here’s what I watched this year.
The Yamaneko is a masked thief, determined to steal money from the morally corrupt. However, they’re no Robin Hood; the Yamaneko is always looking out for number one, stealing for the cash and the thrill rather than for justice. Or so it seems.
Aspiring manga artist Kurasawa Kanae has noticed her husband becoming increasingly distant, and soon discovers that he’s cheating on her. Furious, she starts to look into options for a divorce, but quickly realises she doesn’t have the money to pay for an attorney. The stress causes her manga to suffer, and all hope seems lost until a chance meeting with Hakamada Yukio, a divorce lawyer who claims Kurosawa can win millions from her husband, and with no up-front fees.
Tokunaga, one half of the comedy duo Sparks, can’t find success. He’s due to enter his second year in the industry without anything to show for it until he meets Kamiya, a fellow comedian. Kamiya is somewhat successful, and is well known for his inappropriate jokes. After a night of drowning their sorrows together, Tokunaga asks to become his apprentice. Kamiya agrees on one condition: Tokunaga must write his biography.
