Drama: Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend Japanese:: 私と夫と夫の彼氏 Screenwriter: Kurosawa Hisako Network: Paravi Actors: Hotta Akane, Furukawa Yuki, Honda Kyoya This drama's title says it all she who is craving for more intimacy from her husband, her husband who is a closet gay and now cheating on her, and the husband's boyfriend who is her former student and also is in love with both of them. There's cheating so of course a major drama happen the wife started crying and the husband feels guilty and to add to that drama the boyfriend confessed he is in love with both of them. Then due ..read more

This is the list of what in my opinion the best Japanese dramas of 2021 and 2022 but first I want to mention what taste I have for dramas. I'm not fan of cliché and tropes so you may not find popular mystery and romance dramas on this list however I'm a huge fan of slice of life since the human condition fascinates me a lot and Japan is the champion for that. I am now in that part of my life where watching dramas are not just entertainment some of them are my source to feed my soul. Dramas with depth, characters that uplifts or stories that would give a different perspective; those factors a ..read more

 The Day of Destruction This movie just hit different because of our world's situation right now. The message was supposed to be something more abstract, something connected with Olympics, but as I watched it, the dialogue, the lyrics from the song, it's like a commentary on our world right now. Technical aspect is superb, the cinematography, audio and that song created this atmosphere that will immersed you from beginning to end. It gripped me more than any zombie movie could. I didn't even notice an hour had passed already. Beats per MIZU Cute and well executed short film, just to g ..read more

What Japanese dramas do best aside from being creative with their plot is how they incorporate societal issues without feeling forced. In fact if done right it makes the writing better overall, put more layer to the characters, give them more motivation, but the best when it completes the drama, revisits incomplete plot points, weave those loosely threads into a  beautiful, masterful narrative. This year there are 3 dramas that execute that perfectly, 2 written by Nogi Akiko and 1 produced by WOWOW. Those 3 are equally masterpiece worthy in my eyes so it is a tossed up which one should t ..read more

Drama: Cursed in Love (English title) / We Are Not Ourselves (literal title) Romaji: Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru Japanese: 私たちはどうかしている Director: Naoko Komuro, Ryuichi Inomata, Hiroto Akashi, Itaru Mizuno Writer: Natsumi Ando (manga), Rin Eto Network: NTV Actors: Minami Hamabe, Ryusei Yokohama, Mahiro Takasugi, Yukino Kishii   I'll go straight to the point If you like doki doki type of romance with taste of mystery, revenge and a bit of soapy melodrama then you'll end up loving this drama. It would also help if you love both actors, Hamabe Minami is gorgeous and Yokohama Ryusei is lik ..read more

Drama: Furo Girl Romaji: Furo Girl Japanese: ふろがーる！ Director: Junichi Ishikawa Writer: Yukio Katayama (manga), Yosuke Masaike, Yukari Nakamura Network: TV Tokyo Actors: Hinako Sakurai, Sakurako Konishi   Most people know Japanese dramas for their unusual plot, but in recent years I noticed they got even more creative with these plots, and this drama could be one of the best examples of that. Just who would have thought that taking a bath can be this epic, fun and philosophical.   The main lead Sayoko Oyumino only joy in life is taking a bath, she can really get creative with it a ..read more

Drama: Youkai Sharehouse Romaji: Youkai Sharehouse Japanese: 妖怪シェアハウス Director: Keisuke Toyoshima, Daisuke Yamamoto Writer: Yumie Nishiogi, Brazily Anne Yamada Network: TV Asahi Actors: Fuka Koshiba, Marika Matsumoto, Katsuya Maiguma, Nobue Iketani Youkai Sharehouse is about a girl named Mio who is very unfortunate in life. She lost her job, her boyfriend dump her and her landlady forced her to leave because she can't pay the rent. She is in the lowest point of her life until she ended up in a sharehouse, a place where mysterious yokai live.   You will love this drama more if you are ..read more

He Won't Kill, She Won't Die Cast: Shotaro Mamiya, Hinako Sakurai It's either a fluffy marshmallow sugar fest movie or a bleak teen angst driven film those are the vibes I expect watching this so I was surprised to see a well executed meaningful movie. I love the whole pacing, those 3 story bits are cleverly woven together and don't forget brilliant writing. Likable characters supported by good to great acting, I was surprised I love Sakurai Hinako's character here, I think she's a good actress it's just that most of her characters in the past are either dumb or boring. Mamiya Shotaro is ..read more

More than a love story this whole tale is a commentary on Tokyo's state during different period of time, the Manga which is written during the bubble era, the 1991 drama before it pops, and the modern version when the economy is more stabilized. Each represents wild energy, uncertainty and resolve which would resonate in the character of Rika. The story described her as the living image of Tokyo, and in these 3 versions there is a dialogue where kanji says Rika is Tokyo itself. Having said that Tokyo Love story is not remake but a reimagine, reimagining the same characters and story bits i ..read more

Dance with Me I usually not good with musicals as it feels it break the immersion once they started singing but "Dance with Me" is different as musical is huge part of its whole narrative and not just randomly inserted songs out of nowhere. The female lead grew up hating musicals as she had bad experience with it, then one day a magician hypnotize her and the result is she will sing and dance once she hear any music like a star in a musical movie. In short it ruined her life, she messed up one company presentation and wrecked a restaurant during her date as she swings a chandelier like a craz ..read more