Majo no Jouken (1999) is a great ambiguous piece.
 Tags: Romance, Life, Youth, Drama A drama series that deals with realistic issues South Korean teenagers faced in high school in the late 1990's. Lee Jae Ha made it as a teacher belatedly. As a homeroom teacher, he takes charge of Division 11-3, with several troublemakers. On his first day, he even takes the wrong attendance book, but he and his students grow as he goes through various incidents with his students. Lee Min Jae is the heroin of Division 11-3 and a person of action. She would post posters on the wall with her friends. While making a video complaining about teachers, she gets caught by Yang Dong Chul, the dean of students, and receives a big scolding. Her strong sense of responsibility lets her carry a load alone rather than sharing, and she’s enthusiastic at everything and easygoing. She’s interested in Kang Woo Hyuk, a reserved outcast and a repeater. He likes to listen to music, read, and watch movies, but he’s also a bit rebellious, which often causes conflicts between his teachers and him. He had feelings for Cha Hyun Ju, his Korean teacher, but he slowly got drawn to Min Jae, who had much interest in him. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Business, Romance, Drama Ha Ni used to work at a department store but then she applies for a design certificate and becomes a shoe designer. By chance, she gets acquainted with Seung Jun, the son of the chairman at her company and subtle conflicts with her friend Sae Ra arise. Sae Ra approaches Seung Jun for her ambitions but success and love all come to Ha Ni. Sadly, it's a primitive story that can be done in variations by any country at all, and 16 episodes each an hour long make it a tedious enterprise thus the score. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 Tags: Romance, Drama Cheap love is about Nanami, a teacher, and Junichi, who is a scout for nightclubs. Nanami lives a boring life preparing to get married to a boring man. When she meets Junichi, she sees a chance of doing something exciting, but she did not think of falling in love. Also, Junichi falls for the woman and it is the first time he believes that he can be worth far more than nothing. But a lot of things happen and of course, it is not that easy for them to be together and it always seems that they will not be able to make it. But maybe there is a happy end after all? It is a very good story about friendship, differences in society, prejudices and especially about love that seems to be above it all. FL is kinda disapponting, and when forced drama kicks in, it becomes too tedious to watch further. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Romance, Drama While on vacation in Hokkaido, Natsuki happens to meet Soichirou, a photographer. Unbelievably, she runs into him two more times completely by coincidence, and out of this, a great friendship is formed. He turns out to be the younger brother of one of her best friends, and they all end up living under the same roof. Three women, all unmarried, and all nearing age 30, plus 25-year-old Soichirou. Can a man and a woman truly be friends without ever falling in love? How large is the line between friendship and love, or does it even exist at all? Typical love square. It can't be mere coincidence that three heroines look very much alike those in Long Vacation. Execution is subpar. It's just constant push and pull, and noone knows what they really want, so not sure why 12 episodes were needed here. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Michi, a 26-year-old high school math teacher, tentatively accepts her boyfriend's proposal of marriage, uncertain of her love for him, but feeling pressure from her father and society to do what is expected of her. Hikaru is a 17-year-old boy frustrated by his home life with his single mother. After being expelled from many high schools for bad behaviour, he enters Michi's class as a new transfer student. As their relationship grows, they realize they both feel they've lost themselves to the pressures of those around them, and it is this common bond that draws them dangerously close. What follows is a heart-wrenching story of forbidden love where Michi must face society's judgement for corrupting a minor, abandoning her fiance, and disappointing her parents and co-workers. Seven is the perfect score for it for how ambiguous it is. Great FL, some nice situations and I'm just surprised it goes much further than similar drama, in fact episode 3 is when story ends for similar drama. At times it felt like a firm eight, so ending was paramount for the decision, but it was not satisfactory for me. Overall Rating: 7/10 |
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 Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Misaki Kyosuke, an excellent plastic surgeon, started living a very private life after his wife passed away, confining his main joys in life to cultivating his herb garden and spending time with his only daughter. One day, a woman enters his clinic and asks that her face be completely changed to whatever Kyosuke wishes. Kyosuke is very suspicious and refuses her request, but she begs him to reconsider and explains that she is trying to escape from her violent husband. Kyosuke finally agrees and alters her appearance to that of his late wife. Afterwards, a relationship begins to develop between the two of them, but things start to unravel when two police officers show up on his doorstep looking for the "missing" woman. Cosmetic theme is typically cringy. FL has not gone far from naive girl role. ML plays the very same role of smirky shallow snob every time. It just could not work out for me on so many levels, and trial episodes weren't anyting special. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Sun Hwa, class valedictorian, is an ordinary girl. One day, a handsome boy, Hyung Jun, is transferred to her class as a teacher's assistant. Sun Wha falls hopelessly in love with him. As class representative and teacher's assistant, they quickly become intimate. As graduation approaches, Sun Hwa proposes to Hyung Jun. Hyung Jun declines, considering their differences. What's more, a beautiful fellow teacher, Jang Mi, has been pursing Hyung Jun as well, becoming Sun Hwa's rival. Sun Hwa has only her father to back her in the fight for her true love, Hyung Jun. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Comedy Gag Concert is a South Korean sketch-comedy television show more commonly known as Gag Con. It began airing on September 4, 1999, and aired its last episode on June 26, 2020, making it South Korea's longest-running comedy show. It's not drama, so not sure what it's doing here at all. As a sketch show quite fine. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Romance Kusunoki Taketo is a single 30-year-old dentist. A playboy, he will hit on all his female patients. Chigusa is a 24-year old typical OL, her only objective in life is to snare a wealthy and good-looking man for a husband. However, Chigusa's reputation precedes her, and she is looked down upon by other OLs for being so obvious and tenacious in her search for a man. On one of her dates with an eligible man from the company next door, she wins a holiday for two to Bali. It is here in Bali that she has a one-night stand with Taketo. After their one night together, while sightseeing in Bali, Taketo is reunited with his first love, Aya. She is a famous model, and is in Bali, holidaying with her latest boyfriend. Taketo had loved Aya deeply, but she was more interested in pursuing her dream of becoming a model. She had left him for another man, who had promised to launch her modelling career. Upon their return to Tokyo, everyone goes their separate way. However, Chigusa is one day reunited with Taketo when she goes to his clinic to fix her terrible toothache. Three episodes in, and I'm already pretty tired of it. Typical love triangle with typical fuss around it, nothing that stands out. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 Tags: Thriller, Drama A story of young women living in the same local community. Yaeko moves to a condo named "Mezon Africa," and notices her neighbors are all a bit strange. Matsuyuki Yasuko acts selfish neighbor girl Yuka, and Tomosaka Rie acts anarchist college-student Midori. Meanwhile, Yaeko knows her neighbor Mizuho killed her husband 14 years ago. Very confusing and boring drama with unlikeable characters, feels like waste of time. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 Tags: Romance, Melodrama Life and love for young people living in the '90s with their dreams heading towards the millennium. Yet their dreams are not lofty aspirations but realisable ordinary ones that each of us embraces in our hearts. The main character Hyun Woo, a boyish and outgoing young man, is a computer mechanic who is diligent at work and loves to do all kinds of sports. Deep in his heart, he has never forgotten his first love, Chae Hee, who is now engaged to his high school senior. Thus, he never quite pays attention to the cute Won Young working in the same office. Won Young promises herself not to give up her dreams - her love for Hyun Woo and her ambition to become an announcer on TV eventually. In times of loneliness and anger, she climbs up to the rooftop of her office building and shouts at the top of her voice. This is a drama viewing young people's lifestyles, goals in life and their innocence and purity in love. Mixing several soundtracks into one carelessly sounds more like cacophony. Suicide attempt of a cheerful girl in the first episode fells like total BS. Still tags behind jdrama in everything. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 Tags: Military, Adventure, Historical, Drama Hua Mu Lan is strong-willed young woman. She proved that she can be just as good, if not better, than the men by joining the all-male army in place of her elderly father. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Historical, Drama The 38th NHK Taiga Drama is Genroku Ryoran. The "Forty-seven Loyal Samurai" is one of the most enduring and best-loved stories of Japan's history. Generations have grown up hearing the stirring tale of Oishi Kuranosuke, chief councillor of the Ako clan who leads his men through suffering and hardship to ultimately avenge their lord after he is unjustly forced to commit harakiri. NHK's 38th Taiga Drama "Genroku Ryoran" is the ambitious remake of this classic epic and boasts a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Japanese entertainment. I've watched over 50 episodes of Dai Chushingura of 1971 not long ago, so really don't need refreshing it in memory, thus one episode is all I can stomack unless it's something outstanding. And it's not. 1971 version was a more serious one while this 1999 version is more playful, with exaggerated expressions and antics. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Fantasy Lam Ka Tung is a very very smart man.He is a worldly man,having travelled everywhere since he was 14.So he was a knowledgeable man.And he loved life to the fullest and women too.And it just so happens he fell in love with Chan Miu Ying,the daughter of a local doctor but the girl just despised him.But as fate would have it,they were not meant to be.You see,Lam Ka tung in all his previous lives was a monk.The previous life to the present one,he was a very respected monk who died to make several thieves realise the errors of their ways.So he was a very noble man.And he made a promise that he would never become Buddha until the day all human hardships are overcome.Well this life,Lam Ka Tung the only son of a well off family never imagined himself being so noble.But along the way,he met a famed Monk that lives in his big sack(thus the title,Bou Doi Wo Seung) who told him this his destiny is to be a monk.He didn’t believed that,almost died 3 times and along the way even met the King(cheung Siu Fai) and his spoilt sister(Tong Ying Ying) and mother.But when something horrible happened to Chan Miu Ying,who by now became a ghost ,he had to become a monk in exchange for a chance for her to stay on earth to realise her dreams of helping her father.So actually he became a monk for quite a noble but not so right reasons.Along the way,his mission is to find the seven elements of human sufferings,and he was christenes ‘Shuet but dak’,meaning,Speak No More.Why?I dunno.Anyway,he had to find the seven ‘But Dak’s’ before he can cease to be a monk and marry Chan niu Ying who will be promised a chance to become human again.So he found his disciple,Lau Yoke Chui who became ‘Tam But Dak’ meaning Greed No More.Well,she was greedy,she loved money and the only reason she became a monk is because she was promised that she’ll see her husband (Marco Ngai) again if she followed Lam in the journey of self discovery.Along the way,they investigated weird cases that seemed out of this world but actually isn’t and they came to realise that there is a greater purpose in life than just love and love and love. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Action, Romance, Life, Drama Lai Siu Tin is the spoilt son of a very rich woman who is not his real mother. Ming Chi Git is the son of Ming Sing, a poor, uneducated woman who came from China. Both of this men would never have known each other if not for the fact that they both share the same mother and father. Set in modern Hong Kong, it is a tale of rivalry, jealousy, bitter hatred of two brothers and their mother who is caught between her love for two sons. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Music, Life, Youth Misaki Sakaguchi, a sophomore transfer student, arrives at Yokosuka High School and decides to join the Brass Band Club having heard of its prestigious past from her father, a former member. However, after her entry, Misaki finds that much has changed and the club is now full of dull and inactive students. Misaki determines to do her best to return the club to its glory days, but she must help many of the students overcome their personal problems. It all seems too daunting for Misaki to take on herself, but when she meets Yuki Tomotsuka, a gifted sax player at the local US Army base, she recruits her, and together they gradually bring the club and all of its members to life Can't stand Jazz, so this is being a torture for me, sorry. Feels like a normal school musical club story akin to hibike euphonium. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Drama Esther Kwan, went to work as a ticket collector/ receptionist for a theatre, a place where rumors have said that the theatre is haunted, and there she meets the son of the boss there, Lawrence Ng. who eventually falls for her love, but Esther already has a lover in mind, and is planning to get married with him not knowing that he is a cheater. When Esther finally knows that she actually loves Lawrence, he dies, will Esther ever have a chance to tell him that she loves him? Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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 Tags: Drama Chen Zhaodi is a hardworking woman with traditional virtues. She devotes herself to her family without regrets. Unexpectedly, a nameless fire burns down the home she and her husband have worked so hard to build. She is convicted of a debt dispute and is sentenced to prison. While serving her sentence, Zhaodi's husband Liu Youcheng not only finds a new lover, but also takes away the custody of their child. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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19. Goodbye My Love (1999) [안녕 내사랑] (Finished 2/16)  Tags: Romance, Drama Min Su saved Gi Tae's life 13 years ago. In return, Gi Tae's wealthy father hired Min Su to keep Gi Tae out of trouble. Min Su is extremely loyal to Gi Tae, but Gi Tae is a spoiled playboy. Yeon Ju works in a cosmetic factory with Jung Ae. One night, Min Su and Gi Tae meet Yeon Ju and Jung Ae at a nightclub and they try to impress each other by telling lies, which they later regret. It's again super mundane and primitive start that could be screened at pretty much any country - still a huge step behind jdrama. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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20. Renai Kekkon no Hosoku (1999) [Renai Kekkon No Rule/恋愛結婚の法則] (Finished 2/12)  Tags: Romance, Drama Asako Nakajima, who works for a major beer company, is still a single office lady while her friends are getting married. One day, Asako was transferred from the Consumer Complaint Center, where she had been working for 10 years since joining the company, to the sales department, but she continued to make mistakes due to unfamiliar work. One day, after being introduced to a dating agency that her mother had secretly registered with her, she met Kozo Hamasaki, a tracer of a rural liquor store. OK local romance of 30s years old, but I've seen much better examples of this. This is decent at best. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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21. Did We Really Love? (1999) [우리가 정말 사랑했을까] (Finished 3/44)  Tags: Romance, Life, Drama This story is about three people, Jae Ho, Shi Yung and Suk Ho. Jae Ho and his sister Jae Young are abandoned by their mother to escape poverty. Because of this, Jae Ho doesn't understand what love is. And so, he has a dream of becoming rich, thinking that there is no such thing as love, only money. He works hard his whole life while supporting himself and his sister through college. He works at a seafood wholesale market selling crabs to vendors. He lives with his aunt who has taken him and his sister in after their mother abandoned them. With his big dreams and ambitions, he pretends to be rich while in school, in order to gain the attention of Hyun Su, who is from a very rich family. Thus, he tries to get her to like him so he can marry into her family and become rich. But during this process, he falls in love with his Psychology teacher, Shi Yung. He battles with his feelings and his ambitions, and ultimately picks love over money. Even though they go through hardship, he realizes that he couldn't survive without both, and so he gives up on Shi Yung for money and wishes her happiness. It's fine and watchable even still shows off a bit too much and lacks in actual story. But 44 episodes? It's just crazy to spend that much on such banality. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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22. Omizu no Hanamichi (1999) [お水の花道] (Finished 4/12)  Tags: Business, Comedy The drama tells the story of a hostess turning 30 years old. FL is seriously bad at smiling and grimaces too much for this role. There's no core plot, so every episode is just a small story around this team... not particularly interesting. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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23. Tsukai! Sanbiki no Goinkyo [痛快!三匹のご隠居] (Finished 1/9)  Tags: Historical After spending 20 years searching for the object of his vengeance, Sekiya Kanbei discovers he is now a ronin. Inui Sanshiro was the head of a clan until his son succeeded him, or so he says. Genmu claims to have once been a ninja. These three elderly men join forces to travel the Japanese countryside together. Along the way, they encounter situations that bring out the "warrior" in each of them, and soon they are fighting the corruption and injustices that plague the common people. What can be worse than ronin seeking vengeance and fighting corruption? Only more such ronins and of old age... Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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24. A Mu De Yuan Wang (1999) [阿母的愿望] (Finished 1/30)  Tags: Drama - Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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25. Feminine Masculinity (1999) [先生貴性] (Finished 1/20)  Tags: Mystery, Comedy, Supernatural The drama is about Tang Ping Kuen, the village head of Lucky Villaige, who is always at loggerheads with businesswoman Christine Fong. One day, Christine was shot dead during a paintball game. Since then, the spirit of Christine could not rest in peace until she finds out who murdered her. She decides to take host on Kuen's body. Since then, Kuen became known as Diana to his colleagues once Christine possesses him. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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26. Happy Ever After (1999) [金玉滿堂] (Finished 1/40)  Tags: Food, Historical, Comedy, Romance The drama tells of a story regarding the struggles of a poor chef and his best friend earning an opportunity to serve the Qianlong Emperor, also befriending the emperor along the way. The drama also places an emphasis on Chinese cuisine with documentations concerning the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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27. Kiken na Kankei (1999) [危険な関係] (Finished 1/11)  Tags: Mystery, Drama Story of Uozumi Shinji , a taxi driver who critically injures his former schoolmate, Tsuzuki Yuichiro. After committing the crime, he decides to disguise himself as Yuichiro in order to become the new boss of Miyakoya. He meets Hayami Yukiko , who works for the police. She senses something different and mysterious in Shinji. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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28. Emergency Room 24 Hours (1999) [救命病棟24時] (Finished 1/12)  Tags: Medical Featuring Yosuke Eguchi as a young emergency room doc and Nanako Matsushima as his unappreciative assistant also fails. It is just one medical emergency after another interrupted by bits of silliness, such as the scene where a doctor accidentally smokes the marijuana cigarettes confiscated from a tattooed character while the staff is busy helping the thug "give birth" to the dozens of heroin-filled condoms he has swallowed. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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29. Ring - Saishushou (1999) [リング ~最終章~] (Finished 1/12)  Tags: Mystery, Horror, Supernatural Four high school students died of heart attack mysteriously. A reporter from Central Newspaper, Asakawa, was determined to find out the truth. He learned that all 4 students watched a video tape 2 weeks before they died, so he obtained the tape and watched it, trying to solve the mystery. However, he did not see anything unusual in the tape, which is a music video of a popular singer. Nevertheless, another man who also watched the tape 2 weeks ago died of heart attack. Asakawa was afraid that he would die after 2 weeks, so he seeked help from Takayama Ryuji, who specialized in paranormal phenomenon and seemed to have a mysterious past. After computerized digital analysis, they found out that the video was cursed and whoever saw it only had 13 days left to live. Supernatural horror mystery seriously sounds like cursing to me, and seeing how plot is the same as later movie, a definite skip early. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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30. Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko (1999) [天国に一番近い男] (Finished 1/11)  Tags: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy Due to his lack of drive, Shirou has failed the university entrance exams three times and just can't seem to do anything right. When Shirou starts to contemplate why somebody like him is living at all, a mysterious man named Tendou appears, calling himself an "angel". Tendou warns Shirou that his death is just around the corner if he does not push himself harder. Shirou takes the initiative and ends up saving someone else from an untimely death. In this way, Shirou avoids one brush with death after another by listening to Tendou's frustrating riddles and gradually learns the value of life. With a lot of laughter and a few tears, Shirou's trial teaches the importance of being confident and hard work. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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31. Oni no Sumika (1999) [鬼の棲家] (Finished 2/11)  Tags: Drama After a car accident kills her parents, Ayumi and her younger brother are adopted by their relatives, separately. Ayumi is forced to quit school and work in her aunt's husband's Inn. Ayumi's only friend in the inn is Lin who is an illegal foreign worker. When she runs into troubles, she has 3 guardian angels who takes turn to help her: her aunt, Lin, and Sasaoka Yuzuri, the son of a politician and who has a promising future. Yuzuri's interest in her, however, incurs the jealousy of her cousin and the wrath of her uncle who loves his own daughter Yuriko very much. In the meanwhile, she also has to find ways to bring her brother under her own protection, after she finds out that the Aomori family does not welcome him at all. Torments of mistreated orphan girl. Why is this even supposed to be interesting? I don't enjoy just abuse and bullying, and there's nothing but that in first two episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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32. Yonigeya Honpo (1999) [夜逃げ屋本舗] (Finished 1/10)  Tags: Business, Drama Need help managing your finances? Up to your ears in debt? Rising Sun is the consulting firm that you need on your side. Too late for stopgap measures? Is running away or suicide the only way out? Turn once again to Rising Sun. By day, Genji Masahiko runs a reputable consultant firm, but by night, they help the desperate start a new life. This drama is based on the 1992 manga Young Jump by Nagai Yasutaka. Some economic detective... that I don't care about at all. First episode is pretty mediocre. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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33. Shumatsukon (1999) [週末婚] (Finished 1/13)  Tags: Romance, Life, Drama Tsukiko, a good-natured young woman, has always lived in the shadows of her elite sister Yoko. Ever since childhood, Yoko was praised and complimented for her talents and appearance. Throughout her life, Tsukiko felt inferior to her sister, and hid her true feelings behind her cheery character. Meeting Hyo, the love of Tsukiko's life appeared to hold the promise of a bright future for Tsukiko. When Yoko attempts to marry Hyo's older brother Jun, this threatens Tsukiko's marriage to Hyo. Tsukiko realizes that it is time for her to put her own happiness first. Tsukiko makes a desperate plea for Yoko to give up marrying Jun. But Yoko bluntly declines Tsukiko's request, saying that Tsukiko is not suited for Jun and Hyo's family. It lost me on the moment of a working vodoo doll bs. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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34. Good News (1999) [グッドニュース] (Finished 7/12)  Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life, Family Kurosawa, who works for a film production company, meets Akiko, a divorcee and single mother, who works at a publishing house. Through the efforts of Akiko's son, Naoya, they fall in love and decide to get married. The good news continues with Kurosawa becoming an assistant producer, and Akiko's parents offering to make the down-payment for their apartment. However, things start to go wrong when the ever-generous and sometimes naive Kurosawa helps a respected friend by co-signing on his financial obligation. A warm and occasionally wacky comedy for the whole family. Wanted to drop after first 3 episodes, but relatively good ratings made me linger a bit longer. First of all, theme of debt and constantly nagging over and over about it is tiresome. FL is so-so. Child play is typical short loud words and very poor crying. There's no real plot, just overcoming debt problem and barely finding interest payments without any big plan and trying to to fall into despair. The title is Good News , because there's no good news at all in such life and leads hope to get any good news at all... I don't find it entertaining at all, and even mystery over collector does not deliver. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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35. Lipstick (1999) [リップスティック] (Finished 12/12)  Tags: Psychological, Romance, Drama Hayakawa Ai commits a crime which lands her in a correction facility for juveniles. There she meets and becomes firm friends with four other delinquents and falls in love with one of the wardens, Ariake Yu, an artist with secrets. Stage is super weird as jailers are also kind of therapists, but they have all kinds of troubles that they pour onto detained. That results in abusive co-dependent relations with random emotional outbursts. Basically, I don't consider it much different from Beach Boys, just with an attempt to play into pseudopsychology, pretty bad attempt. Another case only to show off popular idols. There's only exalted fuss that has little to do with reality. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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36. Naomi (1999) [ナオミ] (Finished 1/12)  Tags: Comedy, Life, Youth, Drama An extraordinary teacher Toudou Naomi is hired by a school undergoing reforms to be the teacher-in-charge of a problematic class. Her very unusual way of teaching changed her students and influenced her colleagues, including the other 2 Naomis: Kai Naomi and Yashiro Naomi. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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37. P.S. Genki Desu, Shunpei. (1999) [P.S. 元気です、俊平] (Finished 1/12)  Tags: Comedy, Romance, Life Having already failed, Shunpei is in cram school studying to get into University. By chance, he meets a wild and uninhibited Momoko who has Shunpei twisted around her little finger. It just so happens that Momoko lives in the same dormitory as Sayoko; Shunpei's first love. At a reunion party, Shunpei attempts to get closer to Sayoko but cannot confess his feelings. Meanwhile, Momoko's ex-boyfriend, the elite Doctor Soneda appears on the scene and takes an interest in Shunpei's kind-heartedness. While Shunpei still thinks of Sayoko, love between him and Momoko begins to grow. When Sayoko is caught in a rumor that she is having an affair with the manager at her work, Shunpei tries his best to help her out. However, he sees Momoko and Doctor Soneda entering Momoko's apartment, and the jealousy makes him unable to trust Momoko anymore. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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38. Rasen (1999) [らせん] (Finished 1/13)  Tags: Mystery, Horror, Supernatural Pathologist Dr. Andou Mitsuo gets tangled into the web of the video tape and Yamamura Sadako by pure luck. Unbeknown to the circumstances of discovering the tape, Mitsuo resumed the search to find the real 'truth' that was left hanging from Takayama Ryuuji and Asakawa Kazuyuki as Sadako continues to lurk, killing more people faster in another way than by watching the tape. Sequel of Ring. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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39. Shin Oretachi no Tabi (1999) [新・俺たちの旅 Ver.1999] (Finished 1/10)  Tags: Comedy, Drama This drama is about three friends who don't want to grow up. But despite that, they still have to face problems in real life. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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40. Kanojotachi no Jidai (1999) [彼女たちの時代] (Finished 12/12)  Tags: Drama Fukami, a 26 year-old girl, has a uneventful life, working as a telephone operator. She finds her work tedious and wanted something more important aside from romance. She then meets two girls of the same age, Chizu and Tsugiko. They have something in common though their situations are different. And so, they all became close to each other. No strong storyline, so it ends up to be a rather ordinary women frienship story with minor problems. Fine, but not sure what to like here. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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41. Dokushin Seikatsu (1999) [独身生活] (Finished 10/10)  Tags: Life, Drama Kyoko, an elite career woman working at a major bank, lives a high stress life surrounded by male colleagues and clients that discriminate against her, and a mother who constantly obsesses over Kyoko's lifestyle. As Kyoko is starting to buckle under the pressures of her high profile life, she is approached by a man who inquires if she is interested in working at an escort service. Kyoko refuses the offer at first, but he senses a hidden side to her and persuades her to give it a try. She soon finds herself living a double life: one as a businesswoman and one as a call girl. Her life begins to spin out of control, but a new-found friend may be able to help her escape from her situation. Pretty terrible as impulsive silly decisions are not explained properly, and the cheap economic detective it all pours into does not satisfy in the least. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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42. Tengoku no Kiss (1999) [天国のKiss] (Finished 1/10)  Tags: Romance, Youth, Supernatural High school girl Asumi is a huge fan of visual rock star Shu. When Shu suddenly announces he is giving up singing, she is devastated. She desperately wants Shu to return to music. At the same time, Asumi is surprised by the return of her childhood friend, Kai. His return is somehow connected to Shu. But how? Then a horrible accident happens, leaving Asumi with some amazing paranormal powers. She is almost like a ghost! Will Asumi be able to use her new powers to help Kai and Shu? Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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43. Peach na Kankei (1999) [ピーチな関係] (Finished 1/10)  Tags: Food, Romance For young chef, Kitahama has no regrets about the single life. He's happy to concentrate on his culinary skills, but it's his relationship skills that really need work! Three, single sisters who run their family's French restaurant are ready to find some hidden passion in their love lives. Is Kitahama the answer? And who was expecting the arrival of a formerly-unknown (also single!) half-sister? She gives them all a new perspective on what's really important in life. Food, love, lost passion, kitchen explosions, and heated words make up the zaniest drama from NTV! Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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44. Suna no ue no Koibitotachi (1999) [砂の上の恋人たち] (Finished 4/11)  Tags: Romance, Drama Here's the question: If you are responsible for the (though accidental) death of a girl, then end up falling mutually head over heals with her boyfriend, can the two of you ever be together, because of your previous crime?" This is pretty much what the drama is about. Nagase Tomoya, his girlfriend Kanno Miho, and their friend Okina Megumi are on a trip to Australia where they accidentally run into Honjou Manami and her friend. Through a weird trick of fate, the two groups ending up meeting again at a beach, where due to unlucky circumstances, Honjou Manami ends up hitting Kanno Miho with a dune buggy. Although Kanno Miho says that nothing is wrong with her, and allows Honjou Manami and her friend to leave, she ends up dying later from a head concussion. The story takes off from there where Honjou Manami discovers and tries to deal with the fact that she caused someone's death, Nagase Tomoya shows intense hatred of Honjou Manami to cover up the fact that he's really falling in love with her, and vice versa, and Okina Megumi trying to support Nagase and make Manami pay for the death of her friend. Things get even more twisted when it turns out that the lawyer Nagase, etc. has hired against Manami turns out to be Manami's boyfriend. All in all, it's on really big messy love situation where the only true couple is Nagase and Honjou, but they have to overcome their own feelings of guilt for falling in love. And that's just the beginning. Slow melodrama that forces guilt from all possible sources. Feels pretty boring to go on. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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45. OUT - Tsuma-tachi no Hanzai (1999) [OUT〜妻たちの犯罪〜] (Finished 1/11)  Tags: Psychological, Crime, Drama Masako, a housewife working night shifts at a bento factory, is tired of her cold and conversationless family life. Her only pleasure is talking about trivial things with her colleagues from the factory, who are each shouldering their own burden, and a female detective, Noriko, whom she met due to a certain event. One day, Yayoi, Masako's work colleague, consults her, saying that she has killed her violent, gambling-addicted husband. Masako and her workmates, Yoshie and Kuniko, are dragged into a heinous crime, involving the dismemberment and disposal of Yayoi's husband's body. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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46. 3 nen B gumi Kinpachi Sensei Season 5 (1999) [3年B組金八先生 5] (Finished 2/23)  Tags: Life, Youth, Drama After an absence of four years, Kinpachi Sensei, everyone's favorite teacher, returns to the television screen in a new series. When the series first went into production in 1979, delinquency and on-campus violence were big social problems. Over the years, the pressing problems became truancy and bullying, and more recently, disorderly conduct in classrooms and children with explosive tempers. Kinpachi Sensei returns to the classroom to help teenagers caught between childhood and adulthood who suffer many social and emotional strains. First translated season of Kinpachi sensei, so finally can sample it. Unfortunately, it's difficult to watch after GTO, because it's slow pace, lacks directorship, and, most importantly, I fail to grasp logic here, like when old teacher got beaten by the whole class for the same things Kinpachi started to do. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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47. Rinjin wa Hisoka ni Warau [隣人は秘かに笑う] (Finished 1/10)  Tags: Thriller, Psychological, Romance The story starts with a serial killer, whose victims are lone women and acts are perpetrated in Mizuno Maki's neighborhood (it is suggested that Motoki is this serial killer). Motoki is a police officer with 2 faces: he has an obsession for housewife Maki and is very gentle with her, and on the other side he rapes & tortures one of her friend, Kanda Uno. His ultimate goal seems to make Maki fall in love with him: so he uses her friend Uno to affect her relationship with her husband & he gradually introduces himself into her life. Another person is also obsessed with Maki (she is a sort of public personality as she runs a cooking club with other housewives and appears in magazines), harassing her all the time on the phone, spying on her, etc...: this person is close to her as he knows things from her past (her son drowned in an accident). Motoki also had an ordeal in his past: his mother was killed in a fire, by her lover. Not translated. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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48. Semi-Double [セミダブル] (Finished 3/12)  Tags: Romance, Life, Drama, Melodrama Jinguji Sho is a university professor teaching psychology. For his heartless character, the students are afraid of him. One day, Jinguji saves fashion model Kazama Misaki at a station and a love story between the cold professor and the model begins. Soon, a doctor informs Misaki that she has breast cancer and requires surgery. The news puts an end to her carefree existence and makes her re-evaluate her life. It's rare to see such convenint artificial forced melodrama pulled out from thin air. If I had to describe in one word it would be unnatural. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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 is a great ambiguous piece.){kind=link}
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