Name |
Cast |
Rating
(5-pt. system) |
Aired |
Synopsis |
| KABACHITARE 
|
Tokiwa
Takako
Fukatsu Eri
Jinnai Takanori
|
3 |
Jan-Mar 2000 |
The drama revolves around the
friendship of two 28-year old women, who despite their very different characters and
outlook on life, team up to fight for justice. Tokiwa Takako is a waitress who has a
very positive and trusting personality while Fukatsu Eri is a smart but cold paralegal who
uses loopholes in the law to help her clients. I enjoyed the drama because it's
quite different in both the plot and pace, but parts of it can be quite confusing because
the complicated legal terms and definitions. But the drama starts to drag towards the end
and the ending is kind of bland.
|
KAMISAMA MOU SUKOSHI DAKE
(God Please Give Me More Time) |
Kaneshiro
Takeshi
Fukada Kyoko
Nakama Yukie
Kato Haruhiko |
3.5 |
Jul-Sep 1998 |
A really
meaningful drama dealing with AIDS up-front. Fukada Kyoko is a schoolgirl who tries
"enjou kosai" for the first time to earn money to see her idol (Kaneshiro
Takeshi) but ends up getting infected with HIV. In the meantime, she meets Kaneshiro
Takeshi, and against the odds, they fall in love and on the way, both learn a lot of the
meaning of life. I think it's definitely worth watching, but I was not as absorbed in this
drama as I'd expected, primarily because I find much of the storyline to be improbable
(like how a superstar like Kaneshiro could fall in love with a mere schoolgirl) but the
ending is kind of nice, given the inevitability of AIDS. Read
the episode synopsis (Snowy Tang) |
| KEIZOKU 
|
Nakatani Miki
Watabe Atsuro
Raita Ryuu
Suzuki Sarina |
4.0 |
Jan-Mar 1999 |
Keizoku
is a brilliantly constructed classic style detective story with a contemporary Japanese
twist and a bit of the bizarre. The drama casts Nakatani Miki as a socially-inept but
brilliant rookie detective for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force. At the age of 24, she
is far from worldly and has never even been kissed, having devoted herself wholeheartedly
to crime-solving and other cerebral activities. Watabe Atsuro is a hardened and
cynical detective who despite his skill and experience, had been transferred to the
Keizoku department which handles the unsolved -- or unsolvable--cases. Read the episode synopsis for this drama (Tremain Xenos) |
KIMI GA OSHIETE KURETA KOTO
(Things you taught me) |
Tomosaka
Rie
Kamikawa Takaya
Fujiwara Tatsuya |
4.5 |
Apr-Jun 2000 |
I really
liked this story! The plot is about two people both emotionally damaged - Tomosaka
Rie is autistic and Kamikawa Takaya has PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder( from seeing
his ex-girlfriend die in front of his eyes). Because of the incident, he gave up his job
as a psychiatrist and started teaching at the school that Tomosaka Rie's younger brother
(Fujiwara Tatsuya) attends. He meets Tomosaka Rie through her brother, and gradually their
healing process begins. Great acting by Tomosaka Rie and the drama offers a convincing
portrayal of autism. The storyline is probably not engaging enough to really capture the
audience's attention, but I liked it and it leaves you with a nice feeling. Definite
re-watch potential for me anyway. Read the episode synopsis for this drama |
KINDAICHI SHONEN NO JIKEMBO 2001
(The Files of Kindaichi) |
Matsumoto
Jun
Suzuki An
Naitou Takashi |
4 |
Jul-Sep 2001 |
Matsumoto
Jun plays Kindaichi in the all-new episodes that continues with a similar cast, all by
different actors and actresses. While it's the same format in terms of the presentation
and solving of the cases, the characters themselves are portrayed somewhat differently,
especially in the case of Kindaichi. Jun's version is much more emotional in his
portrayal of the kid detective and the plots are laced with sentimentality. I
personally prefer the older, Tsuyoshi version, which seemed more natural, but nonetheless,
the cases themselves are very interesting and suspenseful, and keeps viewers glued to the
television.
|
KINDAICHI SHONEN NO JIKEMBO
(The Files of Kindaichi) |
Dohmoto
Tsuyoshi
Tomosaka Rie
Nakayama Emiri
Miura Rieko |
4.5 |
Jul-Sep 1995 |
Great
suspense and some really neat twists in the plots. J-drama really takes the cake, when it
comes to fast-paced detective stories. The case is solved in such a convoluated manner
that there's simply no question of guessing the "whodunnit". Dohmoto
Tsuyoshi plays a genius schoolboy whose high IQ helps the police solve many unfathomable
murders. Tomosaka Rie is his sidekick. |
KIKEN NA KANKEI
(Dangerous Relationship) 
|
Toyokawa
Etsushi
Fujiwara Norika
Shinohara Ryoko
Ishiguro Ken
Inagaki Goro |
|
Oct-Dec
1999 |
Toyokawa
Etsushi is an ordinary taxi-driver who, in a moment's anger, kills his former classmate, a
well-to-do businessman returning to Tokyo to take over his father's supermarket
chain. After taking over his identity, Toyokawa meets Fujiwara Norika, a detective
investigating an embezzlement case connected with the supermarket chain, who becomes
attracted to him... |
| KINYOBI NO KOIBITOTACHI E
(Friday's Lovers)
|
Fujiwara
Norika
Katsunori Takahashi
Mizuno Maki
Furuya Ikko
Nogiwa Yoko |
|
Jan-Mar
2000 |
Fujiwara
Norika is a high-powered sales woman who gets transferred to the secretarial
division. She meets Katsunori Takahashi who is a guard at the same company, and the
two of them fall in love, only his ex-girlfriend (Mizuno Maki) is not only still in love
with him, but also happens to be Norika's best friend. Word-of-mouth seems to
indicate that expectations should not be raised too high on this one. |
KOI NO KAMISAMA
(God's Love) 
|
Kimura
Yoshino
Ishida Issei
Kashiwabara Takashi
Kaneko Ken |
|
Jan-Mar
2000 |
Kimura
Yoshino has been going out with Ishida Issei for six years and their relationship is
falling into the rut that hits most couples who've been dating too long. At the same
time, new developments cause them to drift further apart as Ishida Issei suddenly finds
himself the opportunity to become a model, while Kimura Yoshino, an English instructor,
meets Kashiwabara Takashi, a snobbish but intelligent guy working for the government. |
KOI NO KISEKI
(Miracle of Love) |
Hazuki
Riona
Kanno Miho
Hagiwara Masato
Tanabe Seiichi
Nezu Jinpachi
Akiyoshi Kumiko |
|
Apr-Jun
1999 |
Hazuki
Riona has one big problem:her obesity. One day, Kanno Miho, supposedly a relative's
daughter, comes over to stay with the Tsukamotos. At first, she treated Yukino like
a sister but as time goes by, Taeko sees Yukino's attitude change drastically. After
Hazuki Riona is driven from her home, she undergoes a major transformation.... This is a
great drama with a really interesting plot line. Read the episode synopsis for this drama |
KOI WO NANNEN YASUNDEIMASUKA
(No Lover) |
Koizumi
Kyoko
Iijima Naoko
Kuroki Hitomi
Yada Akiko
Nakamura Toru
|
|
Oct-Dec
2001 |
Not your fast-paced drama and the story needs a reality check but
still, it's thoughtfully scripted and the acting (esp by Kyon Kyon) is good. The story
invovlves three married women at crossroads in their marriage. The main problem is that
there is literally no chemisty between any of the three leading ladies and their men.
Still, I liked the dialogue and some of the insights that came through as the plot
developed. A comforting drama but you have to be in the mood for it.
|
KOORI NO SEKAI
(World of Ice/Inanimate World) 
|
Takenouchi
Yutaka
Matsushima Nanako
Uchida Yuki
Kaneko Ken |
|
Oct-Dec
1999 |
This drama
got excellent reviews and ratings for the 1999 winter season! A great suspense starring
Takenouchi Yutaka as an investigator for an insurance agency, who is investigating the
claims of several mysterious deaths that all seem to be connected to a beautiful geology
teacher, Matsushima Nanako... things begin to get complicated when Takenouchi Yutaka finds
himself becoming attracted to her. I'm told that the ending is entirely
unpredictable... so I've definitely got this one on my "watchables" list.
Read the episode
synopsis (C.J. Morikai) |
