ThatJapaneseDramaGuy

Drama: Youkai Sharehouse Romaji: Youkai Sharehouse Japanese: 妖怪シェアハウス Director: Keisuke Toyoshima, Daisuke Yamamoto Writer: Yumie Nishiogi, Brazily Anne Yamada Network: TV Asahi Actors: Fuka Koshiba, Marika Matsumoto, Katsuya Maiguma, Nobue Iketani Youkai Sharehouse is about a girl named Mio who is very unfortunate in life. She lost her job, her boyfriend dump her and her landlady forced her to leave because she can't pay the rent. She is in the lowest point of her life until she ended up in a sharehouse, a place where mysterious yokai live.   You will love this drama more if you are a fan of Japanese folklore, it is by no means scary drama, Yokai only serves as comic relief which is a really fun idea. This drama is refreshing in a way that I haven't seen this concept before. They use this one thing Yokais hated the most which eventually makes them help the main character or people around her.   Definitely carried the actress Koshiba fuka, she is cute, fun to watch, but mos...

Native Title: 東京ラブストーリー Also Known As: Tokyo Rabusutori Directors: Nagata Koto, Miki Koichiro, Yamamoto Toru Screenwriters: Kitagawa Ayako Original Network: Fuji TV, Amazon Prime Actors: Ito Kentaro, Ishibashi Shizuka, Kiyohara Sho, Ishii Anna Tokyo Love story is a remake of the classic Japanese drama in the 90's, I haven't watched the original but all I know is it is a classic and the ending is divisive. This remake made me want to check the original since the story and the characters are just excellent, and I only watched one episode. It also made me crave for grounded to reality romance stories with realistic characters because in these past years most romance Japanese dramas are just filled with over the top characters, like how many grounded romance dramas we get these past years, Koinaka? Love Story? Love that makes you cry? Chugakusei Nikki? Hirugao? What else I can't think of any. It's also interesting to see how this story is different from the or...

Drama: Kasumi Arimura's Filming Break (literal title) Romaji: Arimura Kasumi no Satsukyu Director: Hirokazu Koreeda, Rikiya Imaizumi, Santa Yamagishi, Satoko Yokohama, Megumi Tsuno Writer: Rikiya Imaizumi, Mami Sunada, Makoto Shinohara, Makiko Mizoguchi, Mitsuhiko Fujiki, Naoyuki Miura, Megumi Tsuno, Sakura Higa Network: WOWOW Actors:  Kasumi Arimura, Yuya Yagira, Mitsushima Shinnosuke, Fubuki Jun, Ito Sairi This is unexpectedly a great feel good slice of life Japanese drama. The plot is also original like a story based on the fictional life of Arimura Kasumi, it has nothing to do with her aside from her name as an actress. The direction of the first two episodes is top notch like who else in Japan can create a great slice of life vibe; it's none other than Palme d'Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda. The plot is simple and easy to follow, its episodic structure compliments the slice of life nature of the show, and it really makes the drama easy to digest. It f...

Drama: Ex-Enthusiasts: MotoKare Mania (English title) / Ex-Boyfriend Mania (literal title) Romaji: Motokare Mania Japanese: モトカレマニア Director: Michiko Namiki Writer: Yukari Takinami (manga), Fumi Tsubota Network: Fuji TV Actors: Yuko Araki, Kengo Kora, Kenta Hamano, Minami Tanaka, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Shuri  Things to expect in this drama People who can't get over their ex Gorgeous Araki Yuko   Araki Yukos   Kengo Kora's first rom com   Beautiful cinematography Now for the review:   I'm sure the main plot is relatable to most hopeless romantic out there. It's about people who can't move on from their past relationships. They will continue stalking the person on social media and even go to places they usually go. Just like what the main character is always telling to herself, "memories won't hurt you", who is she fooling right? They turn it into a comedy fest which works effecti...

  Drama: Cheat Romaji: Chito: Sagishi no Minasan, Gochui Kudasai Japanese: チート～詐欺師の皆さん、ご注意ください～ Director: Noriko Yuasa, Goro Yasumi Writer: Miyako Matsumoto, Subaru Yamashita Network: NTV, YTV Things to expect in this drama   Tsubasa Honda as an idol   Swindle the swindlers   Fun characters Now for the review: Swindle the swindlers is the objective. This team consists of the former policeman Kamo Yuto, ex-detective, Negishi Shun, genius hacker, Mizuki Maruyama, and the wannabe idol, Saki Hoshino who seems to be fitted for this job as she's clearly the brain of this group. The team is lead by Anzai Kazuki, whose character is still a mystery right now. It reminds me of the Korean drama The Swindlers as they have the same premise, but this one is one the comedy side, so don't expect high production, unpredictable twist and turns, realistic acting, and excellent execution. The comedy is very Jdorama comedy, so if you ...

Drama: Nippon Noir Romaji: Nippon Nowaru: Keiji Y no Hanran Japanese: ニッポンノワール ―刑事Yの反乱― Director: Ryuichi Inomata Writer: Shogo Muto Network: NTV Actors: Kento Kaku, Ryoko Hirosue, Arata Iura, Kazuki Kitamura, Kaho, Asuka Kudo, Yoshihiko Hosoda, Tetta Sugimoto, Yui Sakuma, Eri Tachibana Things to expect in this drama:   Detective with amnesia    Exaggerated acting    Bearded Kaku Kento Now for the review: I have mixed feelings over this one. First, I love plot; it is intriguing like those you don't know where the story is going, but it's very over the top in my opinion. The execution is off; some of the characters' actions don't make sense at all. It is like a live-action of a murder-mystery visual novel game. LOL Yes, I know Japanese dramas are known for being over the top, and it has its charms, but in my opinion, it could only work with comedy or business dramas written by Jun Ikeido. Is Nippon Noir sta...