About
Posted on April 1st, 2009
About This Blog & Me…
This blog is primarily for reviews of Japanese drama and anime, drama being the main focus~ Occasionally I’ll also be including some non-Japanese, mainly English movies and TV show reviews. I used to want to blog a bit on books on top of that but I read too many to want to write reviews on them on top on of what I watch, which is already a fair amount, though I am thinking of putting those on a different blog/site. Probably something you need to know is that after many changes to this blog I’ve decided also I’ll only review shows I more or less like. That way at least I don’t waste too much time and it’s more motivating to blog, seeing as I’ve got other places to update.
The types of stories I like I watch pretty much anything that piques my interest. My favoured genres are historical, romantic comedy, psychological thriller, crime/mystery, fantasy, medical, slice-of-life… I’m quite open-minded to that respect. Good characterization, realistic elements, good plot and a bit of romance and comedy on the side (but not overpowering the story) are what draw me most. I am not a fan of horror, revenge, mafia/gang plots, really gory violence and shows with very slow pacing and nothing happening aka no plot. I may put up with it if the artistic direction/style is good or there are characters/people in the cast I like but it’s rare. I am rather neutral on mecha and scifi shows as I’m not so much into them.
Why the focus on Japanese drama? The average J drama has what I call the compact but concise formula. Each season usually runs for 6-11 episodes, which means I can watch a higher volume of them compared to western, even chinese or korean dramas that can go on for many seasons and years. Japanese dramas seldom go past one season, showing a special or movie at the most. Not that it is bad, but it is hard to keep up with when you stop in the middle, plus there is always a never ending list of shows I want to watch~ Also, while anime is great, I personally prefer to watch real people compared to 2D (or 3D) characters. Anime tends to adopt fantastical elements and themes, whereas most Japanese drama is about normal people going through their lives and normal situations. This interests me more as I can relate to the characters better and as Japanese language learner, observe the language used in ‘real time context’ is educational.
Sub or Dub
Preference goes to subs, but I am not against a decent dub. It’s great that various foreign shows and cultures are slowly being introduced to the world.
How I Rate
I rarely give anything full marks, as nothing is perfect, even with shows I really love. If I did the flaws were small enough for me to overlook. Anyway, I here is my philosophy behind my ratings in a nutshell. There are too many shows so I rarely review anything under a 5, concentrating on shows I like.
9-10 – Perfect or near it, maybe one or two very minute flaws, but did not detract total enjoyment.
8-8.5 – Overall solid piece of entertainment with a few flaws (eg. anticlimatic ending…)
7-7.5 – Not bad, but quite few parts could have been better handled.
6-6.5 – Decent, entertained somewhat, but would rather have rented a dvd instead of forking out for a ticket.
5-5.5 – Passable because of some bits that were its saving grace; could have done without watching it.
4-4.5 – Not my thing, just watched out of curosity/to be informed, did not dislike it but still not my thing =X
3 & below – Total waste of them. Couldn’t even find something to like.
A Brief Glimpse of My Visual Code
5 favourite Japanese drama
Hotaru no Hikari, Iryu: Team Medical Dragon, Love Shuffle, Zettai Reido, Team Batista no Eiko 2: General Rogue no Gaisen
5 of Favourite Movies
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, A Little Princess, Love Actually, Sense & Sensibility, I Not Stupid 2
5 Favourite Animated Movies
Wall-E, Anastasia, Mulan, Horton Hears A Who!, (tbd)
5 Favourite Anime Movies
Howl’s Moving Castle, Tonari no Totoro, Summer Wars, Paprika, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo
5 of Favourite Anime
Saiunkoku Monogatari, Bleach, Kuroshitsuji, Ristorante Paradiso, Junjou Romantica
5 Favourite TV Shows
JAG, Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, The Cook & The Chef, Cashmere Mafia
5 Favourite Japanese Movies
Haru no Yuki, Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien, My Rainy Days, Tada, kimi wo aishiteru, Death Note 2: The Last Name
5 Childhood Favourites
Power Rangers (original until Turbo), Sleeping Beauty, She-Ra, My Little Pony, Pirates of Dark Water