Non-cheesy doramas... do they exist?

In the beginning when I started watching asian drama series I could get my kicks out of them just because it was exotic for me. But now I'm looking for more in the storyline department. I'll describe my experiences till now so maybe someone can recommend a drama suitable for me Smile

I think my first drama was GTO and I still think of it as one of the best. Though at times I was wondering if the youth in Japan is really that fuckin childish(no, I'm not talking about the kawaii stuff) I thought there was some great criticism against the system.
First season of Gokusen was pretty nice, towards the end I got kinda bored. Gang fights in senior high? Tough guys running happily towards the sunset... wtf!? (I really think all this is to blame on the cheesiness, not cultural differences). Just finished watching Gokusen 2... what a ripoff ^^;. Oh yeah, and the background music was annoying... Big Smile

The 4 episode long Friends was pretty nice, though too shallow for a hippie like me Blink

. The thing for me in the series was the differences between Japanese and Korean cultures and of course the scenery Smile

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I only watched the first episode of You're Under Arrest, because at the time I was very sensitive about drug related opinions and in the episode someone gets arrested for possession of pot among other things and I felt very bad about it Big Smile

. Ok, this is really a cultural thing, because I know it's not that easy to discuss various opinions of drugs in Japan as it is here in Europe (even here in ol' conservative Finland). It was also one of the first dramas I had watched, but now I'd say: too cheesy Sad

Densha Otoko is also one of my favorites, cheesy, but original. And it's not full of pretty boys with make up on so that's a +. It was an anime style drama in a good way.
Ok, I think that's about it, or at least what comes to my mind now. I should also say that 20th Century Boys and Homunculus are some of my favorite mangas, but I hate basic mecha and scifi Crazy

Hehe, I guess they're all Japanese series, but I also watch lots of movies from various far east countries. I'd be very grateful if someone can recommend me some nice series Smile

. Maybe my explanation helps a bit Big Smile

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:36 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Dramas are usually directed towards the female audiance in Japan. That's why they are so corny and cheezy.

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:40 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:41 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Hrm.. non cheezy drama?

I think it's hard to find.. but IMO there are a lot less cheese in Jdorama - like GTO, Gokusen (although there is plenty of cheese in some spots as you said). I would also suggest:

Orange Days - Great story, a little cheese. No one dies.
Ace wo Nerae - Tennis story, not so much cheese so far.. only seen 3 eps though.
Good Luck! - A very interesting story.
Hero - Completely cheese-less. Very different, very good.

Full House (Korean) - A really funny series, some cheese.

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:45 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

They exist, but they tend to be the darker, less comedic ones...which I've noticed usually means less popular, and probably unsubbed (in English)...
This past winter season actually had 3 non-trivial dramas: Yasahii Jikan, 24 hr Emergency Ward (Kyumei Byoto 24 ji 3rd series, but all of them would probably classify in the same category), and Minna Mukashi wa Kodomo. But I don't think any of them were subbed, unless I missed something...

Mysteries are alway good too....
Koori no Sekai (I think is subbed?)
Suna no Utsuwa (got a lot of good reviews, although I haven't seen it)

I guess melodramas fall under this category as well, but I tend to steer clear of them since they just annoy the heck outta me....

I dunno...

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:45 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Thanks

. Maybe I'll try some of those... I also remembered a nice Korean movie: Sex Is Zero. Different and more real than your every day drama Big Smile

Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:46 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

would Sekai no chuushin count as cheesy? that's supposedly really good, I've only seen 2 episodes though but I like it so far. I don't think Trick is cheesy either.. it's quite original also.. but I'm not really sure what counts as cheesy Unsure

(I have no idea why I needed to use the word cheesy so many times in this post)

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:10 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I would recommend Orange Days. Its my favorite.

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:20 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Thanks for the advice ppl ^^. I did some research and I think I'm gonna try Sekai no Chuushin, Orange Days and Hero. It seems Sekai no Chuushin is the only one downloadable at the moment so I'll stick with that.

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:56 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Orange Days @ Japan-tv

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:11 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Finally - someone who isn't falling for the trendy drama fomula! Congratulations! Smile

--- groink

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:21 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Yes there are many non cheesy shows out there, you just happened to watched some cheesy ones in your selection.

If you want drama watch Sekai no Chushin, no comedy there, might get you teary eyed in the process.

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:29 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:06 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

yeh I would recommend "Million stars falling from the sky" too. Nemureru Mori (sleeping forest) is also good though similar to "million stars" in certain ways. These are suspense type dramas by the way.

As for "Orange Days", well I only watched the first episode (to hear Mr.Children's new single at the time) but isn't it pretty much a newer version of "Ai shiteiru to itte kure" ? I know they were both written by the same person and though they wouldn't copy everything, it seemed from what I saw that they reused a lot of things (like replacing the apple with an orange). Kind of like how "Love generation" copies "Tokyo love story". Anyway, I would recommend "Ai shiteiru to itte kure" since it is the original classic, but if you can't get your hands on it, then I guess "Orange Days" is ok.

Also, "Hoshi no kinka" and "Miseinen" were interesting and didn't seem cheesy to me.

Hmm, now that I think about it, the older dramas are a lot less cheesy than the recent ones.

Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:19 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I dont know about One Million Stars Falling from the Sky, that one got me depressed for a while. Sad