#j-dramas

Welcome to Benkyogo! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 📺Drama's mentioned in this video: 

- Hana Yori Dango (花より男子) - Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (結婚できない男) - Densha Otoko (電車男) - Gokusen (ごくせん) - GTO

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 ⛩ Visit the Benkyogo blog for more ways to learn Japanese!

I watched some of Nobunaga Concerto because it had Shun Oguri and he’s one of those rare creatures who can take a monstrosity of a madhouse wreck like Tajomaru and throw all of himself into even that ridiculous role. I’ve also read the translated chronicles of Nobunaga, so having the ‘real’ Nobunaga become Akechi Mitsuhide sounded like an interesting conceit. 

I just couldn’t get behind turning Tokichiro into the bad guy, though, ‘cause I adore their historical interactions almost as much as I adore Nobunaga’s up-and-down friendship with Toshiie. I ended up skipping the rest of that show and rewatching a few of my favorite taiga, instead. 

I've come to Asian dramas rather late. I was at a turning point in my life — in the midst of a professional crisis, accompanying my mother on her final journey — when, almost by chance, I remembered those Asian dramas my friends had once spoken of with hearts all aflutter. Drifting through the internet, I stumbled upon a website offering Asian dramas for rent. On a whim, I selected a Japanese series whose synopsis promised a tantalising blend of family secrets, social critique, and romance.

The drama was titled Burn the House (2023). It followed a young Japanese woman — quiet, clever, and resourceful — as she infiltrated the home of a wealthy family, determined to uncover the secret behind a long-buried family tragedy that had once brought shame upon her mother. I remember being swept away by a soothing sense of disorientation and mystery — the feeling of brushing against a world where everything was lived more deeply. Soon after, I began watching Perfect World (the 2019 version), a poignant Japanese drama tracing the story of a young paraplegic architect and the former classmate whose feelings he gently yet resolutely turns away. I was swept away by this love story. I really liked the actors, and the way the series blended drama and comedy felt effortlessly natural.

Looking back, I feel that two elements drew me into the vortex of Asian dramas. First, the delightful sense of disorientation brought on by the language and culture. And second, the pervasive presence of hierarchical dynamics — especially within romantic relationships.

From there, I began to explore the many shades of the drama universe: the suspenseful and tightly woven Korean thrillers, the majestic and emotionally charged Chinese tragedies, and the tender, heartwarming Thai BL series that so often speak of longing and connection.

If You Read These Books…Try These J-Dramas: Romance Edition Vol. 2

Hello Everyone! As you know, I’m a big fan of Japanese dramas and Romance novels. Today I’ll be recommending even more romance novels that can be paired up with Japanese Dramas and vice versa. To see the first batch of recommendations click here. Each book or show centers around a romance or has romance included in the storyline. I hope you all enjoy these personal picks and come away with some…

I have been addicted to Dramas all my life from the American and Mexican tele novelas of my childhood, to the Japanese and Taiwanese Dramas of my youth, to my current obsession of Korean Dramas. Thus I have decided to add my input into the hustle and bustle of the drama blogging world in order to hopefully bring new input to this happy world and perhaps help new addicts ease into the wonderful world that is drama-world. Join me every week for reviews and updates of the current dramas I am watching and every Friday for recommendations on Dramas for newbies and or to marathon!

Asked by @akumanakoi. Were you expecting this one to be difficult? Cos it ain’t! My top like never change unless it’s a seriously mind blowing dorama which hasn’t happened in like 5 years xD

1. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi - one of my first ever J-Dramas and it’s what made me fall in love with Kamenashi Kazuya, Ayase Haruka AND Yokohama. It’s all because of this drama THAT I’m now living in Yokohama <3 this dorama has such a massive influence on me even today and I’ve rewatched it about 7 or 8 times and it still makes me cry!

2. Tumbling - OMG this emotional ride <3 it has some of the TOP actors (for us fangirls imo) in it and it’s such a great story with lots of ups and downs and the theme song just breaks my heart and makes me cry every time and omg this dorama you guys. It’s because of this dorama that I became a fan of Tomo and decided to properly look into D-Boys. So it’s thanks to this baby that I am now a huge Tomo fan and I support D-Boys a lot ^_^

3. Koizora - omg omg omg do I need to explain this one? Just Seto Koji seriously. The entire story is heartbreaking and ohhh I can’t discuss this anymore, I’ll get emotional. Boxes and boxes of tissues are needed for this one.

4. Clone Baby - My mind was blown the first time I watched this! I rewatched it for the first time last year and while it wasn’t AS mind blowing, I noticed just HOW many big names were in this! And I CRIED so hard when I rewatched it <3 I wish we had gotten a second season or a second book but I don’t think we ever will =[ also chibi Yamazaki Kento and beautiful Matsuzaka Tori <3 also Inaba Yu!!

5. Liar Game - this is candy for me okay. I love it! The suspense, the music, the story, the characters, the actors. The first three (Season 1, Season 2, The movie) are all genius and... I love this series okay. Yeah it got bad in the final few installments but damn I love this!