The Obstacles being JDrama Fan...anybody feel the same?

[jackruff]

Don't you feel the same?
I've been Jdrama fan since "love generation" and "beach boys" first broadcasted on my local tv station...but the Jdrama trends soon fades away from my local tv....that's when the difficult times start...I only get late release (years from original air time) from some bootleg drama collector with bad quality hardsubbed....
When I finally hooked into internet so glad I found dramawiki & asianwiki which leads me into d-addicts and then jdramacity(RIP) and nyaa....
Then came immediate raw release but another problem occur.....I never master/learn proper japanese so subtitle availability it's vital here....for those who don't master japanese (me) they must be patient with raws until "subber the saviour" release their subs...another devastating moment when nobody picks your desired drama for subtitle It'll be raw forever....
Sometimes I envy with korean dramas (not quite my taste btw)...thanks to the massive korean wave it makes english(other major language available also) subtitles released almost as fast as the raw release.....
That probably not gonna happen with japanese drama which became more hard to find and lesser known...but I survived it until now..
I'm still big fan of japanese drama......When I watch japanese drama with english subs I get learning to interprete two languages (jap+eng) simultaneously (english is not my first language)...which is good for me.
See ya next time..and keep lurking into this forum..

[Keiko1981]

Well, that's been the problem from the very beginning and why fans started making subtitles themselves. The Japanese entertainment industry doesn't appear to be very willing to share their dramas (and other popular culture) with an international audience.

Unless

1. Spend a couple of years and learn Japanese. Jump on a plane and work as a English teacher, or for another company in the land of the rising sun.
2. Are lucky and live in a country/area that provide a TV channel with (few) Japanese dramas with English subtitles.

My best suggestion for you if you *really* are into Japanese popular culture. Put some effort into trying to learn some of the language, in the long run you will find it helpful.

Take a couple of weeks and learn Hiragana and Katakana. Pick up a Japanese beginner book, or learn by watching on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 9dbLkctxV-

I myself, first I bought a book, during one summer learned Hiragana and Katakana. Then asked several times if my school could have a Japanese class. (Which they didn't). I ended up taking a 30 hour evening course in my neighbor city. Over the years I've picked up some kanji, basic phrases, and grammar. Not enough to translate a whole drama myself, but enough more easily follow a drama. Read Japanese articles/Wikipedia etc.

And "Rikaichamp" is a good addon that you might find helpful if you use FireFox.

To sum it up, with the little I know. I still find it very helpful.

[jackruff]

Thanks.nice detailed suggestions.
I'll keep it for my future references.
As for me the easiest way to understand a little japanese probably some common/simple word(s) I knew...
But when they started talking fast/complicated that's when I lost in interpretation...

[ladyxenax]

I can relate to that. It's not like I'm in desperate need of English subs though - my limited knowledge of Japanese which I've picked up over more than 10 years of watching J-dramas and J-TV helps me to understand 80% of the dialogue. I used to be quite ok with waiting for subs and for raw until I got into Korean and Chinese dramas.
Getting the subs and a HD rip of an episode on the same day of broadcast, the feel when a TV-series is officially uploaded on youtube - I feel like I'm getting too spoiled.

Trying to learn Japanese is ok of course but not everybody has the will or time or interest to study, and I can understand those people who want just to relax while watching fave dramas with quality subs. That's why so many have drifted away to Korean or Chinese drama fandom where subs and the series are easily available.

[pato]

The k-pop fashion influence will fade away in 2 or 3 years probably. So eventually it will be same story for korean drama anyway.

[OldAnimeLady]

I found myself getting frustrated at interviews and variety shows not getting subbed or Locked ..which means they are useless to me...I have started learning Japanese (its only been about 1 and a half year since I started). By using 9-10 phone apps. I can now read quite a bit of hiragana and katakana and recognize about 100 Kanji (which is nothing). Self taught and realized 20 years of anime taught me NOTHING!

Also I learned how to sub, that is helping me to pay attention and learn as well, cleaning up badly worded english subs (working on "Demekin" now) helps reinforce what I do know.

i would rather say "look i am trying"--vs "why havent you done this yet"

[bertiwooster]

I can definitely relate. I have spent years studying the Japanese language (even doing an immersion program) and I still miss a great deal if there aren't English subs. Still, I do think Japanese doramas are becoming more available and I remain optimistic that as more people see these doramas there will be greater interest and more will become available. I also enjoy K-dramas and I think their popularity will make people more willing to try doramas and then they will come to love them as we do. Yes, I admit I'm an optimist by nature, but things do seem to be moving in that direction I think. In the meantime, we all owe a great deal to those kind souls who devote the considerable time and energy to making the doramas available and doing the hard work of providing subs.

[Yanez]

I have to confess not having the foggiest idea about K-anything (I only watch J-dorama and J-movies, sorry) so I can't really judge on the difficulty of being a J-dorama fan as compared to something else...but to me the biggest obstacle in being a J-dorama fan per se is that it's so difficult to find people to share this passion with IRL; here they dub everything, therefore 99% of the people are too lazy to watch anything with subs (and 99% of that 1% still wouldn't watch anything subbed in another language - i.e. English)

[Keiko1981]

..but to me the biggest obstacle in being a J-dorama fan per se is that it's so difficult to find people to share this passion with IRL...

So very true, and it makes places like these online so much more important.
The dubbing isn't an issue in Sweden, they usually make subtitles.

It's only on very rare occasions you see something Japan related. For example if a movie has won some kind of award, then maybe it can be shown. But dramas no. Most recently being a news segment when the cast filmed Idaten in Stockholm.

[Yanez]

..but to me the biggest obstacle in being a J-dorama fan per se is that it's so difficult to find people to share this passion with IRL...

So very true, and it makes places like these online so much more important.

...
It's only on very rare occasions you see something Japan related. For example if a movie has won some kind of award, then maybe it can be shown...

Exactly! And then again, whenever I find one of those extremely rare J-movies which have actually been dubbed (i.e. "Our Little Sister" / Umimachi Diary) and show it to friends & relatives, they all totally ADORE said movie! Thus proving, I think, that there could definitely be a market for those, if only the local distributors deigned themselves to make the effort and import something good from Japan instead of the usual, trite and utterly useless hollywoodian crap...

[jackruff]

some youtube accounts have tried to spread jdrama especially the less known/old but popular jdramas which seems to be already off the radar unlike the new jdrama...if you had luck with your keyword you'll find something like "love generation" or "mukodono" and "pride"....
Recently I've been digging into my jdramas collection and enjoying rewatch bit old dramas like "haken no hinkaku", "danda rin", and "somatou kabushikigaisha"...and I still remember how hard is to get them episodes in the past..
For jdrama fans-warrior out there...don't give up enjoying this rare and unique entertainment...