What live-action series are you watching or have you watched?

[*Jess♥]

heh heh, yeah j-drama is the best.

remember I mentioned Otomen?

if you haven't given it a look yet, I recommend it.

it is really good series.

it's got special moments and comedy, a bit of fighting here and there, nothing anywhere near close to tokusatsu but the main character does kendo so it is part of his life.

I really love the way they show some certain skills with such care and attention. especially the cooking parts. i love cooking.

[odin]

I still have not watched a lot of series yet, I am finding it difficult to watch specific series, I was currently watching Shinkenger but I can't find episodes past #40 , and i really like the series thus far.

other series I have watched are mostly Kamen Rider :

Ozu (currently watching)

Kuuga( on stand by, can't find any streaming episodes)

Faiz

Decade

Den-O

Kabuto

W

Kiva(only a few episodes)

the next and the first (liked it a lot)

Black (a few episodes)

super sentai

Zyuranger (a few episodes)

Shinkenger( up to episode 40)

Gokaiger (currently watching)

other

Garo(currently watching)

[*Jess♥]

I finished watching yama onna kabe onna.

very good series again, really enjoyed it.

i'm on the last episode of otomen.

after that, I plan to watch hero.

durendal, I rmember you saying you watched yama onna kabe onna because of teh two actresses who were in it?

can you remind me what it was you watched?

[durendal]

What do you mean? You mean Masaki Ito, the infamous "Kabe Onna"? She was Hermes in Densha Otoko *ding ding ding ding*. She was also Kyoko Otonashi in the live action special Maison Ikkoku. And I also seem to remember seeing her in Gokusen as one of the teachers. As for Kyoko Fukuda (Yama Onna), I have never heard of her before watching this series.

[*Jess♥]

i remember ... was it 'love generation' or something?

oh , she is a very good actress. never made the link.

I even watched a clip of densha otoko the other day and she was in it... and i never even made the connection. weird.

well, I didn't really recognise any of the actors in this series.

I probably have seen a couple of them before. I just can't remember clearly.

oh but in otomen, is seto kouji. he has been in a lot of things.

[*Jess♥]

hmm i watched ep 1 of hero. not sure abut that.

it's got so many american style locations, i don't like the feeling of that.

so i think i'm gonna look for somthing else.

I considered gto but when i saw how old it is, i immediately decided against it.

I don't like old things like that.

i think i'll have a look on dramawiki to see if there is something hby the same productoion company as mei chan and atashinchi no danshi.

[durendal]

You mean Matsu Takako? She wasn't in Yame Onna Kabe Onna. She was in Love Generation, Long Vacation and Hero. All those movies involved Takuya Kimura as the lead actor.

And I can't believe that you didn't recognize Masaki Ito as Hermes. I mean I first saw Misaki Ito in Densha Otoko and she was carved into my memory, and every time I see her, I would go: "look, that's Hermes".

Well, I do hope you'll like Hero. Fancy detective work for a Lawyer who didn't graduate from a university.

[*Jess♥]

I decided to look back over the posts because i was sure you had mentioned two actresses in relation to this.

here is the post i remember

Ah, Yama onna Kabe onna. Another funny series. Although this lacks the powerful impact of the other series, it's still a likable show. You gotta love the innuendo's of the show about breasts.

If you are a fan of Rumiko Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku, there was a TV special released a few years back, and it stars Misaki Itoh as the admirable Kyoko otonashi.

also, the last three J-drama I have seen are Love Generation, Long Vacation and Hero. All of these shows somehow stared Kimura Takuya and Matsu Takako in different roles.

so yeah, as you just said.

aye, i did not recognise her.. i think because in densha otoko she was graceful, demure, withdrawn somewhat, and romanticised.

in yama onna kabe onna, she was pretty much down to earth, almost boyish and aggressive.

[*Jess♥]

I'm usually right in my instincts so I'm not watching hero or gto.

they are probably very good in their own right, just not the sort of thing i am looking for.

so since i have only 1 more episode of otomen, I have acquired two more series.

the first one is BOSS. it's about a ragtag team who are got to be beaten into shape by a tough lady.

could be interesting.

second is nihonjin no shiranai nihongo, which i believe means the japanese that japanese don't understand.

it's one i mentioned earlier. I like the look of it because of the fact that they are concentrating on english language.

[*Trey98607]

I am currently watching the American version of Shekinger, which is our Power Rangers Samurai.

[*Jess♥]

i have started watching nihonjin no nihongo shiranai.

it's really entertaining. especially since it is about language, language learning and language teaching.

there is comedy involving the use of words etc. i think I'm gonna enjoy this series

[Toku Warrior]

Hey, I forgot about Otomen. I never finished the series past episode 1 as i got busy with other things.

Also, I've got two more new j-dramas fully downloaded and on my list to watch. One is Okane ga Nai! and the other is Hotaru no Hikari. Okane is subbed by Timeless Subs and Hotaru is done by DoReMii subs.

Here's is the story synopsis that both sites give about these two series.

Hotaru no Hikari:

Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto.

Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano.

Okane ga Nai!:

Kentaro lives in the suburbs with his two little brothers. They are poor, but they are happy. The factory Kentaro works for, though, goes bankrupt on pay day and Kentaro finds himself out of a job and with even less money. The brothers are thrown out of their apartment and Kentaro, a born optimistic until then, decides that he must aggressively pursue “money”. This drama depicts the success story of Kentaro in his search for money and a better life.

I also plan on starting the live-action j-drama of the manga/anime series Itazura Na Kiss.

Itazura na Kiss:

Late for a meeting, Kotoko was running along the corridor in school and bumped into Naoki, their lips meeting. Naoki showed his disgust, but Kotoko started to idolise him, who was good at everything from studies to sports. When Kotoko's house burned down, her father's good friend Machiko invited them to move in with her family. It was then that Kotoko realised Naoki was the elder son of Machiko, who took up the role of a fairy-godmother to bring the two together...despite the fact that Naoki was disgusted. Not discouraged, the clumsy and not-so-bright Kotoko started to do everything that would change her impression on him. Gradually, the icy-cold Naoki who disliked girls started to feel for Kotoko...

[*Jess♥]

hotaru no hikari looks brilliant!

thanks for sharing that, I really want to watch that one too.

I watched the intro, up to the office part, it has all hte hallmarks that i look for. good music, interesting character intros, nice atmosphere.

I eventually found a video for お金がない after traipsing through a load of yaoi manga and anime also called okane ga nai....

unfortunately i can't stomach old series. so i didn't like the way it was looking.

i want to keep post 2005 i reckon. maybe 2000 and onwards would be ok. but HD really does make all the difference.

well I have 1 more episode of nohonjin no shiranai nihongo to watch.

I enjoyed it a fair bit. although there were times when they explained complex lingustics rather quickly and i got a bit lost but those moments were rare, it is mostly fun, and the swedish girl is so cute

[*Jess♥]

i picked up sexy voice and robo.

it's a quality series, however I am finding it to be a little depressing in some ways. i've watched 2 episodes so far and it seems that some of the characters are very tragic. I find this difficult to watch to be honest, since i prefer to think positively and this is presenting things in a very desperate light.

anyone watched this?

will the rest of the episodes be this way?

it's a shame because i like the main characters and would like to see more of them, but not if it means having to witness such tragedy with little relief.

[durendal]

If you say it's good, I might pick it up and take a look myself. Although you would probably be finished watching this by the time I managed to obtain them. I guess watching how I met your mother has satiated my drama fix.

Oh by the way, I'm watching Kuuga at the moment. I can feel a certain "Showa-y" aura in the show.

[odin]

I am watching Kuuga, Black and Ozu and Gokaiger, like them all so far.

[*Trey98607]

I am currently DVDing all my Power Ranger episodes from the very beginning with DAY OF THE DUMPSTER with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, all the way to the current series Power Ranger Samurai.

[*Jess♥]

I obtained hotaru no hikari but there is a problem.

at about 3:45 in the first episode, a sentence appears that is several words and is only displayed for half a second. it is way too quick and there's no way i can read it.

as a result, I cannot trust the work of this group doremii.

is your version the same?

I'm actually quite shocked that a group would do such sloppy work.

it;s almost as if there was zero quality checking.

[durendal]

I think you should watch more drama, as this will drastically improve your Japanese listening skills. I'm sure you've caught a few words and phrases. Once you reach the point where you will only need certain keywords from the subtitles, it's fairly easy to watch without having to rely on the poorly subbed videos. You might even nitpick that the translations aren't quite as accurate as you thought.

And since I'm 2 episodes short of completely finishing How I met your Mother, I'm gonna need more drama fix soon. So my current lineup would be Sexy voice & Robo. But Hotaru and Okane ga nai seems to be pretty interesting. Are they "widely" available in our favorite d-addicts?

[*Jess♥]

hotaru is easily available.

durendal, I agree that watching more makes it easier to watch without reading.

I do often look away when naruto is on, peeling an orange or something, and they say something and i understand it completely.

the problem with this instance is that the subtitles is embellished.

I hate sub groups like that. if the character says 2 or 3 words, that does not yield a 10 word sentence.

and the 3 words are words that i don't yet know. and the sentence is only displaye4d as long as the character speaks. even speed reading, i cannot capture that sentence. (take a snapshot of the sentence and pick out the key points)

I can't abide this type of thing because it's the specific thing I have troubles with.

pieces of writing not being let on long enough, I have trouble with at the best of times as my reading is relatively slower to others due to dyslexia. it makes me very angry because it is so fast that I don't even have a prayer. I can understand if it was a normal speed for normal people, I can judge whether or not it is, and i will try and be forgiving of that since i can't expect them to tailor it to my slow reading at the expense of everyone else. but this was blatantly bad and it highlights a trend for that group and i can't be dealing with the stress of getting up , rewinding and pausing the program each time the timer has been sloppy. it ruins the entertainment. that's why i never watched azumanga daioh. but i could probably find another group for that actually. I don't think another group has done hotaru. maybe i'll just watch it without subs some day.

edit:

just to emphasise, the last time i had this issue was with azumanga daioh, over a year ago. most groups do a good job of timing.

[*Trey98607]

The reason you are having problems with your sub titles or closed caption as it is called, is because the operator had a problem with the mechenism or something like that. I've seen where words appear and just as they appear, the quickly disappear.

[durendal]

Then this gives you more reason to avoid HK subs. Not only are their translations funny, the time the subs are displayed are also inconsistent. Some times they stick out like a sore thumb, and sometimes they don't even appear at all.

I still can't forget how they called Hongo and Shiro as Woody and Wolf.

[*Jess♥]

yeah, I remember HK subs were the first opportunity i ever got to see any kamen rider.

they were very odd indeed.

I definitely wouldn't watch those now.

it frustrates me because it lists a QC for the process so that person must have watched through it? well I don't know why that person could not notice such a thing and simply edit the timing. I've done it before so I know how simple it is to do that.

now, I'm planning to watch ikemen paradise.

the new one will be coming this summer so it'll be good to watch this then that.

[*Trey98607]

Then this gives you more reason to avoid HK subs. Not only are their translations funny, the time the subs are displayed are also inconsistent. Some times they stick out like a sore thumb, and sometimes they don't even appear at all.

I still can't forget how they called Hongo and Shiro as Woody and Wolf.

Yes, that's true, but they can also appear with some letters or even words missing, or they can appear, and just as quickly disappear before you have a chance to read them.

[*Jess♥]

well i'm really enjoying ikemen paradise.

i' up to about ep 10.

anyone watching or seen it?

i just want mizuki to notice nakatsu.she's so hung up on sano, and it's so annoying.

i was brought to tears when he hugged her from behind and said "i'm here for you, no matter who you love. i love you" that was so amazing.

I was so happy that he finally told her.

he is such a great character.

I will not be happy if mizuki ends up getting together with sano.