Most popular drama in Japan

I cant find a thread like this one so I'm making a new one. Im curious as to what jdramas have been most popular (best ratings) with the japaneese audience. Im not talking about just recent dramas but more like over the past 10 years. My guess is that the most popular (or should i say most downloaded) dramas we "international viewers" like are series like Hana Yori Dango, Gokusen, 1 litre of tears etc might not be as popular in Japan. Or am I wrong? What series have been the most sucessful? Maybe Densha Otoko?

What do you guys think?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I understand that both seasons of Jikou keisatsu were extremely successful in Japan, but not so popular here on d-addicts. The first season was awarded the ATP Prize and last year's season was voted "most satisfying." The only reason I know that, though, is because I'm a fan of Toyohara Kosuke & Odagiri Jo (and loved their antics and ability to play with the quirky humor of the show). Hopefully someone can point you to more specific info. I mean, do the awards handed out each season (best drama, actor, etc.) really mean anything or are they chosen by a specific demographic that biases the choices?

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

I heard the series Oshin got rating of over 50% in the last episode (may be less than 50% but I am certain it got one of the highest if not the highest rating in history of Japanese Television). The story is about women called Ohin

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Oshin

I saw that your are 23 so I doubt you will remember or even see this before as this serie was broadcast back in 1983-1984. I saw it uploaded on d-addict recently so you might want to check that out.

For a newer series, I ask my Japanese friend and she said it could well be Long Vacation.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Long_Vacation

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:35 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

When you mean popular do you mean highest viewer ratings?

In that case I also heard it was Oshin which, also holds the highest per episode rating.

Of popular dramas in the last decade, I believe it would be Hero, which ranked in the 30 % range which is really unheard of nowdays.

And yes, dramas on DA or popular among international viewers seem to be different than in Japan.

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Kimura Takuya dramas are often a hit in Japan! Tongue

such as Long vacation [last episode: 36.7%]
HERO [last epi: 36.8%]

and a lot of NHK dramas of course...taigadramas etc~

[/b]

here · Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

As a general rule, anything with Kimura Takuya will do well in the ratings (20+).
Taiga dramas generally get 20+ ratings as well.

And I wouldn't say so much that international viewers have different tastes, more that the demographic is completely different. Everybody on D-Addicts is generally young as this is the generation that grew up with computers and the Internet. You're not going to get older people trying to figure out how to use Bittorrent. In Japan, you get the full demographic, young, middle-aged, old... That's (at least partially) why what's popular among the D-Addicts community is idol-driven and/or manga live-action material.

Also, manga/anime has kind of become an international face for Japan... This is how many if not most (young) foreign people are introduced to Japanese culture, so it's only natural that if they venture into dorama, they'd enjoy something based on it or that has similar themes.

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:30 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Dear quashio.

Hold on just a minute....I adore Kimura san and SMAP and have all his stuff on video ...either bought or downloaded. I can put subs on videos. I can burn discs etc etc .

I love all Asian film and drama when it is good stuff. love taigas.

I am an octogenarian.... although I do admite to being thirtyfive in my head and heart.

Peg

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:12 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Most people consider any dramas breaking 15% in average ratings to be a moderate hit (unless it's a Fuji Monday 9pm drama). Anything breaking 20% on average is a mega hit.

Dramas that broke 20% on average over the last decade

99' - Overtime, Majo no jouken, Furuhata Ninzaburo 3

00' - Beautiful Life, Yamato Nadeshiko, Oyaji, Shomuni 2

01' - HERO, Love Story, Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 2, Shiroi kage

02' - Hito ni Yasashiku, Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi

03' - GOOD LUCK

04' - Pride, Shiroi Kyoto, Last Christmas, Boku no Ikiru Michi

05' - Gokusen 2, ENGINE, Densha Otoko

06' - Saiyuuki, Dr Koto 2006

07' - Hana Yoori Dango 2, Karei naru Ichizoku, Galileo, Haken no Hinkaku

Purely from a ratings prespective, i guess it's quite easy to infer SMAP = higher chances of ratings bitz LOL.

If ratings = popularity then YES, tastes of international viewers do somewhat align with japanese viewers. HYD, Gokusen etc are as popular in Japan as they are here. Personally it's more about demographics, dramas like Dr Koto, Karei naru Ichizoku, Haken no Hinkaku etc will not be as popular with the prodominant crowd here of 15-18yr olds.

On the otherhand it can be argued that ratings does not give an adequate picture of popularity. There are many ways to measure popularity like dvd sales, dvd rentals, requests and ratings from repeat broadcasts etc.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Remember, boys & girls, that the value of a given rating changes with the passing of each year. In another topic, I spoke about 40-points in 1985 having the same value as 30-points in 1995, and 20-points in 2005. If you know your Statistics 101, you will find that various things affect viewership ratings, including:

- Sample size of the viewing audience (more people today than there were earlier).

- More TV networks on-the-air, making the number of options in a given hour more diverse.

- Other forms of media, such as movies, magazines and especially the Internet. Keep in mind that viewing dramas via the Internet are NOT factored in the viewership ratings.

Therefore, it is totally WORTHLESS to produce any sort of list. There's even talk where Oshin's numbers are virtually impossible to match because of the change in culture and attitudes.

--- groink

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:34 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Wow, Kimura Takuya is in quite a few. Is he one of mega star in Japan? Either he's really good actor or that he just picked good drama to be in.

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:32 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:00 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:53 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0

Kimura Takuya plays the same role in every single drama he is in. Haha, I've seen at least 7-8 of his dramas, and he always has the same personality. Big Smile

Might be a little exagerated, but it is at least partly true.

Thanks for the replies, I'm gonna give Hero a try now. I've seen the movie but not the series, maybe I shouldve watched it the other way around, oh well. Offtopic!

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:16 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0