Things I noticed from Jdramas.

Talk about the culture and entertainment from Nihon.
lzydata
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Post by lzydata » Mar 1st, '08, 16:43

Shadow Hexagram wrote:A sound effect cliché: the sound of a helicopter to give some dramatic intensity.
Along these lines, I've noticed that they use an ambulance siren sound when the character discovers that something's bad about to happen. At the moment I can't remember any particular drama that has this, but it's a common trick to get you the viewer a little bit anxious.

When the drama features a large principal cast - common settings: an office, a school, a family - and the touching moment happens towards the conclusion, everyone gets their turn to show the appropriate 'touched' expression for the camera.

Some clichés and stereotypes may not be a failure of the imagination, just a reflection of social realities (as far as I know). E.g. the OL living alone in a one-room apartment, working in a mind-numbing job with a glass ceiling, approaching 30 with no marriage prospects (alternatively, with an unreliable boyfriend), whose parent will in one episode unexpectedly come visiting from the jikka, and in the end improve their relationship and/or impart some valuable life advice. This is usually the father: he's usually unapproachable and unexpressive, but in the end manages to convey his concern and love. Offhand I can think of Ryu Raita in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko and Ono Takehiko in Hataraki Man. The mother in this role will usually be someone like Ichige Yoshie.

On the other hand, other stereotypes just irritate me, like the insane college environments portrayed in Hanazakari no kimitachi e and Hachimitsu to Clover. Please tell me this isn't real.

mizune
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Post by mizune » Mar 6th, '08, 05:24

merging with a similar thread....

hey9
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Post by hey9 » Mar 30th, '08, 19:49

The villain could ruin someone's family, attempt to have them killed, or do horrible things to take away their boyfriend/girlfriend - but at the end of the series the main character will always forgive the villain.

This actually pisses me off a lot of the time lol...

MochaValencia
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Post by MochaValencia » Apr 2nd, '08, 00:29

It's a little late, but I'd also love to join in. Let me add a few observations: :P

1. For maximum appeal, sway your hips while walking AND running. [Matsumoto Jun in Gokusen and HYD].

2. A teacher who always wears black has a dark past [Maya (Amami Yuki) in Jyoou no Kyoushitsu].

3. Similarly, a doctor who has a closet full of black suits has a deep dark secret. [Naoe (Masahiro Nakai) in Shiroi Kage]

4. On the one hand, filming with four male main characters is like shooting a sentai series -- you have to give each a distinct look: One has to wear all the light colors, one should always wear a tie or a vest, one should always be in printed dress shirts (hint: floral) and the male lead should wear jackets or suits in the most unusual colors available (GOLD!). The distinction should also apply to personalities and vehicles (bike, sports car and limo) [HYD].

5. On the other hand, when shooting with several female leads and one actress literally towers over the others, that actress should only wear heels during the big events (i.e., court hearings), and wear flats *most of the time*, especially when all cast members have to stand within a single frame. [Ijima Taeko (Hara Sachie) in Shichinin no Onna Bengoshi]

6. When there are two cops or detectives (especially in comedies), one of them should be the serious half of the pair, the other is the kooky one. This won't matter, because both of them would be talented enough to solve the problem at hand anyway.

7. The orange mascot in cop shows [Odoru Daisousasen, Taiho Shichauzo, etc etc]

And I agree with everything that's been said about running :D
Last edited by MochaValencia on Apr 3rd, '08, 03:33, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Beecubed » Apr 2nd, '08, 02:43

Nice (and funny!) observations you guys. I don't really notice stuff like this, but most of it is pretty true. WOW the contrast between Kdramas and Jdramas is just getting more and more stark to me... T__T

albertoavena
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Post by albertoavena » Apr 3rd, '08, 04:10

Not so much in J-dramas but in variety shows and things like that, has anyone ever noticed that most if not all the audience members are women? I always seem to notice that and have no idea why...

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Post by archive18 » Apr 10th, '08, 08:39

It's been great reading through these posts and I have picked up on a lot of them. Yes what is this running thing :blink

One thing that I have noticed is the 'Protect the company at all costs, even if we have to get rid of an Innocent person'. Is it really like that within the Japanese corporate world ?

Don't get me wrong I am NOT having a pop at the culture it is something that I have notice coming out of the Jdrama that I have been watching. :scratch:

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Post by rairai » Apr 10th, '08, 09:23

this thread made me laugh, really, but not in a negative way, coz i love everything abt japan (drama, people, fashion, tech, food and all)
iv also noticed a lot but i think everything's been mentioned already.. the most common i guess for me is the running thing (and not taking a cab or bus) and the getting sick thing (and having their partners take care of em)

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Post by roxieanonymous » Apr 10th, '08, 09:34

"Tokyo has taxis, buses and a good subway system but if you
need to get somewhere in an emergency you should run"
LOL. I thought of this about 20x while watching Proposal Daisakusen. XD
And i totally agree with all of you with that age thing. Older women look young and younger girls look older.
And I totally LOL'd at this:
11. If you don't have a bike basket on your bike, you've got nothing.
LMAO. Who cares if the brakes are broken and you're bound to crash, as long as there's a basket you're cool. XD

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Post by sno_oz_ze » Apr 15th, '08, 12:48

LOL!! I've also noticed most of these observations, especially the running and sickness ones, i really don't get that. It's like, rain = a fever/cold/near death experience. but... since i've come to japan i've come to realize they are all like hyper paranoid, you catch a little cold and everyone is like oh no! have you seen the doctor? do you need medicine! etc etc, just over the top in my opinion...
also the comment about tokyo being so clean... well, this may seem nuts, but I was in Shinjuku once, and there actually are street cleaning crews. I don't mean like people just sweeping or picking up garbage but on their Hands and Knees, actually scraping gum off the sidewalk. @_@ talk about a crappy job.

yatrasocuv
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Post by yatrasocuv » Apr 17th, '08, 03:06

sno_oz_ze wrote:also the comment about tokyo being so clean... well, this may seem nuts, but I was in Shinjuku once, and there actually are street cleaning crews. I don't mean like people just sweeping or picking up garbage but on their Hands and Knees, actually scraping gum off the sidewalk. @_@ talk about a crappy job.
wow....these people are dead serious, are they not?
The running thing appears in K-Dramas too hahah...it's more passionate and....well, i guess HOT when you run toward an emergency.. :whistling: :lol ....ahah...I have to plan my trip to Japan soon haha

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Post by ruisu » Apr 17th, '08, 03:43

roxieanonymous wrote:"Tokyo has taxis, buses and a good subway system but if you
need to get somewhere in an emergency you should run"
LOL.
And i totally agree with all of you with that age thing. Older women look young and younger girls look older.
Lol at the taxi thing. But actually, I always thought jdramas did a good job of keeping ages real. I think young adults playing teenagers is the norm in Hollywood, but teens seem to really be teens in jdramas (no five o'clock shadow, no baywatch body, etc.).

Here are a some more that I've noticed:
  • *90% of the characters don't have Caller-ID.
    *If someone goes out to eat at a fancy restaurant, there's always a white couple in the background (and the woman is usually blonde).
    *If someone is in debt, it not to a bank or debt collectors that will take your house, or your car...nope, it's to gangsters that'll either make your daughter a sex-worker or KILL you if they don't get paid.

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Post by joykimlee » Apr 17th, '08, 19:44

Girls confess to guys a lot. Girls chase guys. Girls ask guys out on a date.

Of course it's ok for girls to initiate. But it just seem that in JP, girls always initiate the date, confession, proposal to a guy who has simply no idea that he's being admired by her.

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Post by lomsie » Apr 3rd, '09, 23:34

The one thing that really irritates me, other than running around the entire damn city, is in a J-drama, when the two lovers or friends just miss each other by not turning around, and then proceed to run all over the city looking for each other, then something bad happens, be it an accident, death, or getting on a bus never to see them again, these people never think to take out their extravagant cellular phones and CALL each other.

Seriously. For a culture who is so into their hand sets with internet browsing, HD tv, chaku-uta, video calling, face recognition, and all these other nifty applications, they waste their time ruining their lives by running around when a simple phone call would do. Japan isn't that big, coverage is GREAT, especially in Tokyo, where 80% of these dramas are based!

HYD, for example, SO many of Makino's problems would be solved if she just took out that suped up phone and called her bon bon boyfriend; the same goes for him.

Lol, i guess it makes for drama, which is what these shows are all about. Haha.

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Post by pubble » Apr 7th, '09, 16:17

Things I noticed from JDramas/J-TV/Interviews:
*stuff*

woah, don't you think you're taking this a little too far / a little too seriously?
- mod

lomsie
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Post by lomsie » Apr 9th, '09, 03:32

pubble wrote: woah, don't you think you're taking this a little too far / a little too seriously?
- mod
Really? It's just a bit of fun.

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Post by never2muchcoffee » Aug 17th, '10, 20:37

I have had so much fun reading through this thread. So many things I just had to laugh at cause I had noticed them too. Even though it's been over a year since the last post, I simply had to add one more thing: When more than one guy falls in love with the main girl, one will have red/lightened hair and he will be the one who DOESN'T get the girl - Mei-chan, HYD, Hana-Kimi

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Post by Deleted User 151227 » Jan 27th, '11, 16:11

There must be some kind of strange disease in japan, that I never heard of.
Whenever someone gets wet in the rain or is really stressed, they get a fever, collapse and are unconscious for a loooong time. Then they sleep. :blink
At this point, everybody knows that everything will be alright. :scratch:
What disease is that? Poisonous rain?

Proof taken from My Girl, Daisuki!! and various others.

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Post by curiositee » Jul 8th, '11, 22:21

If you want a funny, silly guy, be a karate master woman who will beat him up regularly in the background while the main, serious couple look at you with a Gentle Smile before sweetly looking back into Each Other's Eyes.

There is no such thing as Ugly in Japan. Even after cancer, multiple car accidents, and having a building fall on top of you, you never have disfigurations. If you have more than a single, strategically placed bruise on your face, you're doing it wrong.

You may need to put up with a head bandage after getting hit by a train though, but only for a couple of hours.

Popular guys only ever end up with girls with serious, preferably pathological, self-esteem issues and/or self-destructive tendencies.

It's socially acceptable to suddenly turn away from your conversation partner so you can have an excited conversation with yourself and/or punch the air. But do note that when you turn back around, he will not be there, and you will look perplexed.

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Post by ulzzangmiko » Aug 15th, '11, 18:05

endormion wrote:There must be some kind of strange disease in japan, that I never heard of.
Whenever someone gets wet in the rain or is really stressed, they get a fever, collapse and are unconscious for a loooong time. Then they sleep. :blink
At this point, everybody knows that everything will be alright. :scratch:
What disease is that? Poisonous rain?

Proof taken from My Girl, Daisuki!! and various others.
HAHAHA omg!

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Post by ulzzangmiko » Aug 15th, '11, 18:14

curiositee wrote:If you want a funny, silly guy, be a karate master woman who will beat him up regularly in the background while the main, serious couple look at you with a Gentle Smile before sweetly looking back into Each Other's Eyes.

There is no such thing as Ugly in Japan. Even after cancer, multiple car accidents, and having a building fall on top of you, you never have disfigurations. If you have more than a single, strategically placed bruise on your face, you're doing it wrong.

You may need to put up with a head bandage after getting hit by a train though, but only for a couple of hours.

Popular guys only ever end up with girls with serious, preferably pathological, self-esteem issues and/or self-destructive tendencies.

It's socially acceptable to suddenly turn away from your conversation partner so you can have an excited conversation with yourself and/or punch the air. But do note that when you turn back around, he will not be there, and you will look perplexed.
THE LAST ONE. TOTALLY. Can't even count with my fingers how many dramas have got that scene. But i find it ridiculously CUTE, that's what makes J-dramas enjoyable. like a surprised panda with that puzzled look when he/she suddenly realized the conversation partner has disappeared...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByLX6jFW ... ideo_title

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Post by MEOWMIEMEOW » Nov 27th, '11, 14:55

Shindou wrote:1) they LUV IBM laptops

2) a fairly large number of characters in jdoramas seem to be employed in advertising
Heh....I've noticed that this was posted 5 years ago but .. I can't help but ask... which dorama did you notice that they own IBM laptop? I haven't seen much dorama but I've noticed that they use HP laptops in 'Bloody Monday". Do they still feature IBM laptop in doramas or has it changed now?

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Post by auroragb » Dec 5th, '11, 21:12

I certainly notice macs in doramas now...

koitsu
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Post by koitsu » Dec 5th, '11, 22:11

MEOWMIEMEOW wrote:
Shindou wrote:1) they LUV IBM laptops

2) a fairly large number of characters in jdoramas seem to be employed in advertising
Heh....I've noticed that this was posted 5 years ago but .. I can't help but ask... which dorama did you notice that they own IBM laptop? I haven't seen much dorama but I've noticed that they use HP laptops in 'Bloody Monday". Do they still feature IBM laptop in doramas or has it changed now?
I think Lenovo bought out IBM's commercial laptop division, so it may be due to a lack of IBM laptops rather than anything else.

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Post by earthcolors » Dec 16th, '11, 12:45

Just wanna add some stuff that I think haven't been mentioned yet:

1. Watching the newer doramas these days, I guess there's never an episode I've seen that doesn't mention the word 'suicide'. I mean more now than before.

2. If the characters are talking about a certain place (to meet up/where it is located) it is almost always "in front of the station:" e.g. "...Oh, you know the cafe/pastryshop/bowling alley in front of the station?"

3. Always in detective dramas, hours before the victim is killed, police says there is a stranger/witness who heard a very detailed conversation between the victim and a suspect...guess where? See no. 2.

4. The hero and his teammates work really hard in whatever sport they're in and always - end up placing second. But it's okay, bec. they'll earn the respect of the team who won which happens to be their bitterest rivals.

5. Apparently, the Japanese don't watch too much TV. I remember Hiroshi Abe in Kekkon Dekinai renting all those dvds, but he was never shown watching any of them.

6. And my fav. (already mentioned in Metantei no Okite), in detective dramas and other genres as well, the main characters will have a big quarrel/misunderstanding just before the final episode.

:roll

raingirl
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Re: Things I have learned

Post by raingirl » Mar 5th, '12, 05:46

Keeper of hells gate2 wrote:I have noticed some things as well :)

1) Hitting 30 years of age is a major deadline
2) Once you are married I guess your life is set
3) I really have a hard time determing a Japanese persons age. 21 looks like 15 and 30 look like 22
4) Yeah, I noticed the running thing two
5) Not alot of over weight people in Japan - might have something to do with all of that running :)
6) The Japanese are very fashionable
7) Class is a big issue in Japan
8) "I love you" is a pretty common phrase for someone you just met
9) The Japanese really don't hind their feelings even to a stragner
10) The Japanese seem to consume alot of alchohol.
11) Smoking doesn't seem to be a major problem there
12) When you are drunk you can get away with doing and saying alot.
13) The whole senior/Junior thing
14) Students actually all and do wear school uniforms (that must suck)
15) Japanese School Girls can be viscious.
16) Alot of bowing alot - it not just a formal thing.
17) When you break up with your love one - its almost a certain guarantee its going to rain.
18) A umbrella can be a pimping tool, not just something to keep dry
19) Out of a country 126 million people and conjestion you are magically going to meat a person at either the appriopiate or inapprioate time.
20) 700 yen isn't alot of money
21) Your most personal information is going to be know by your neighbors friends and entire family - a major lack or privacy.
22) Slurping the noddles is good manners
23) The love age gap can be pretty pretty big
24) Cross walks are lethal after a breakup
25) Nakama Yukie is far to beautiful its scary.
This list is amazing! Haha!

Here's my addition:
-Almost everyone has a childhood friend/ sweetheart (mostly the central theme/concept)
- Everyone is skinny/ fit, except if you are an old lady/man or the villain
- The rich character always owns a hotel (or the dad owns hotels)
- "Normal" characters are office men/lady
- If the lead character is wimpy, the love interest is strong and tough

KoChun
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Re: Things I noticed from Jdramas.

Post by KoChun » Sep 26th, '15, 06:11

Actually, I noticed this in Japanese performers profile on wikiaddicts and asianwiki...
...Japanese list their blood type.

ocha_suki
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Re: Things I noticed from Jdramas.

Post by ocha_suki » Sep 26th, '15, 08:13

KoChun wrote:Actually, I noticed this in Japanese performers profile on wikiaddicts and asianwiki...
...Japanese list their blood type.
it's because Japanese so concern about it. they too believe that your type blood determines your personality.

KoChun
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Re: Things I noticed from Jdramas.

Post by KoChun » Sep 16th, '18, 08:42

ocha_suki wrote: Sep 26th, '15, 08:13
KoChun wrote:Actually, I noticed this in Japanese performers profile on wikiaddicts and asianwiki...
...Japanese list their blood type.
it's because Japanese so concern about it. they too believe that your type blood determines your personality.
Thank you for the insights.

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