A new season of dramas has just kicked off here in Japan. In the last couple of years, I've watched a few dramas and I think they're quite good. They're definitely better than variety shows about food.

The first drama I watched was Engine with Kimura Takuya and Koyuki. I just saw a couple of episodes of that one. I didn't watch a full series until Boku no Aruku Michi, which starred Tsuyoshi from SMAP. After that I watched Haken no Hinkaku, which by a small miracle starred no members of SMAP. It did, however, have Ryoko Shinohara, Ai Kato, and Prime Minister Koizumi's son. It also had that curly-haired guy--I can never remember his name. Haken no Hinkaku is still my favorite Japanese drama. After that I watched Oni yome nikki, with Gori from Okinawa. I also watched Bambino with Jun Matsumoto from Arashi. Last season I didn't watch anything, just because the shows I wanted to see conflicted with my schedule.

I like Japanese dramas because they have a definite story arc. I love American TV, but I wish more shows would limit their runs so that the stories could be more solid. It's the same with British shows, like The Office, that run for twelve episodes and then end. I like that. (side note: I love the American version of The Office, which is now in its fourth season, so I'm open if the writing's good.)

This season, I've started watching two shows. The first is Ashita no Kita Yoshio, which is about a guy who plans to kill himself in 11 days. Each episode covers one of the days, so there will be 11 episodes. The main star is Fumiyo Kohinata. He's more of a character actor than a lead, but he's a good actor so I'm happy to see him get a role like this. He was in the show I mentioned earlier with Tsuyoshi. The second show I've been watching this season is Bara Nai no Hanaya, which stars Shingo Kattori, who is, of course, a member of SMAP. This show seems more like a soap opera than a drama--the first episode introduces a woman who is pretending to be blind to get close to Shingo--but I'll give it a chance. I'll keep you posted on these shows and any others that might come along.