ThatJapaneseDramaGuy

Drama: Nagi's Long Vacation Romaji: Nagi no Oitoma Japanese: 凪のお暇 Director: Toshio Tsuboi, Takeyoshi Yamamoto, Nobuhiro Doi Writer: Misato Konari (manga), Satomi Oshima Actors: Haru Kuroki, Issey Takahashi, Tomoya Nakamura, Mikako Ichikawa, Erika Karata, Yo Yoshida Here comes another slice of life drama from Japan, a country that is known for producing very good slice of life dramas in the past. Such a comfy drama with playful music and calm pacing added up to the laidback/cozy atmosphere of this drama. I only watched one episode so far, but I can already tell this will be something special, first episode had all the signs of a masterpiece in the making. With strong performance from its cast, this thought provoking drama is a must watch, especially that the theme it tackle is close to heart. When you enter a room full of strangers most people will remain silent for awhile. Judge people's faces, their expressions, their manner of talking etc. Whether it ha...

Drama: The House on the Slope (literal title) Romaji: Saka no Tochu no Ie Japanese: 坂の途中の家 Director: Yukihiro Morigaki Actors: Kou Shibasaki, Seiichi Tanabe, Miki Mizuno, Hidekazu Mashima, Ayumi Ito, Yuki Sakurai Writer: Mitsuyo Kakuta (novel), Eriko Shinozaki The English title "A House On The Slope" reminds me of that part in one of Haruki Murakami's books where it says, Frank Kafka was quite fond of slopes. He loves to gaze at houses built on the middle of the slope. He would sit by the side of the street for hours, staring at houses like that. Of course Murakami just made that up, but anyone who is familiar with Kafka's life knows that it's most likely a fact. House on the slope is a brilliant metaphor for what this drama is about, that awkward angle symbolizes misunderstandings inside that household, that if we stare at a house built like that we need to tilt our head at one side to straighten it up, just like kafka seeks his father's approv...

Drama: What Did You Eat Yesterday? (literal title) Romaji: Kinou Nani Tabeta Japanese: きのう何食べた？ Director: Kazuhito Nakae, Katsumi Nojiri, Kenji Katagiri Writer: Fumi Yoshinaga (manga), Naoko Adachi Actors: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Seiyo Uchino "Accepted means ignored" that's what I always hear when people describe the LGBT scene in Japan, and this drama clearly shows that in the most honest manner. They will ignore it if they are outside their group, like people on the streets, etc, but once they are a member of their family, friends or a co-worker, it's a different story. But you can't also blame them because they are just worried as society is very unforgiving. As a straight guy, this is an eye-opener to me, it shows me the struggles gay couples have in our society, the stereotypes on gay people and the lack of knowledge on gay couples. This is somewhat similar to Ossan's love, I'm not saying this is better than Ossan's love, it is less funny...

Drama: Radiation House Romaji: Rajieshon Hausu Japanese: ラジエーションハウス Director: Masayuki Suzuki Writer: Tomohiro Yokomaku (manga), Taishi Mori (manga), Haruka Okita  Actors: Masataka Kubota, Tsubasa Honda, Alice Hirose, Nobuyuki Suzuki, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Kenichi Endo, Emi Wakui What makes this drama different from other episodic type of drama is that every episode has its unique theme, and not just an episode dedicated for fleshing out other supporting characters. My favorite is the episode about mask that every person put mask because of different circumstances, which it won't hurt if we remove a bit of that mask to have a better understanding of each other. Also in my years of watching Japanese dramas this might be the first time that a medical drama is about radiographers, people whom most of us, taken for granted, those who work behind the scenes taking your x-ray. I would never think much of those people if not for this drama. With all that said, this drama is a b...

Movie: Kinki Romaji: Kinki Japanese: 禁忌 Director: Kotaro Wajima Writer: Kotaro Wajima Producer: Itaru Fujimoto, Hirofumi Shigemura, Kiki Sugino, Yukihiko Yamaguchi Actors:  Kiki Sugino, Taiga The plot is one of the darkest, twisted yet fascinating as you would find psychological elements that would impact you as viewer. I say psychological because if you try to look into the mind of the characters, their action would just makes sense. I'm not trying to justify their actions because it's obvious these are your typical twisted characters in a movie. I also would like to point out there is no Forbidden love, younger man/older woman, student/teacher relationship and especially ROMANCE in this movie. Obsession & Lust is very different from love, just watch the scene on the beach where he tried to cut off his D**k, that was such a powerful scene. I see these tags are the reason why there are a lot of negative comments here. These are very misleading tags. Th...

Movie: Rebirth (English title) / The Eight Day (literal title) Romaji: Youkame no Semi Japanese: 八日目の蝉 Director: Izuru Narushima Writer: Mitsuyo Kakuta (novel), Satoko Okudera Actors: Mao Inoue, Hiromi Nagasaku, Eiko Koike A woman abducts the baby of man she was having an affair with, the same man who forces her of having an abortion and as a result she loses her fertility. For four years she loved and raised the child as her own until the day she got arrested and the child went back to her biological parents. Fast forward and years later the child has grown up. She moved away from her home because she's unable to adapt with her family. Ironically she also became pregnant with a married man, and now is thinking whether to get an abortion or not. The film is about her journey on how she discovered the link between her present and her past. The opening sequence at the court is one of the strongest opening sequences ever. We see the unapologetic abductor and the veng...