Recap of the Summer 2006 season

The summer 2006 season is finally over and here's a recap of some highlights in this season where 5 dramas went below the 10% mark and 2 of them had to be shortened due to their lacklustre results:

Ranking in terms of average ratings

1) My Boss My Hero 18.91% - Generally good but I felt that the ending was too long-winded at certain points.

2) Kekkon Dekinai Otoko 16.93% - Quality of the episodes wasn't too consistent and developments were slow at times. However, it was still entertaining and good acting from Abe Hiroshi, Natsukawa Yui and Takashima Reiko. That anti-climax ending really got me so exasperated though. ^__^

3) Sapuri 14.24% - Biggest problem lies with the uninspiring acting of the leads. Next comes the script. Clearly the biggest flop this season despite the ratings which I think should have gone lower. It certainly doesn't deserve a No.3 placing.

4) Fushin no Toki 12.91% - I think the scriptwriter doesn't know whether to make this a messy affair about straying spouses or a funny story about how these people go around in circles for no purpose. This is how I feel as of finishing Ep 5 so far...Maybe I'll feel differently when I finish this.

5) Hanayome wa Yakudoshi 12.03% - Kind of boring. Shinohara Ryoko is trying hard to keep this afloat but then the story is quite dry. Doesn't bring out the best in her. I might just drop this halfway...

6) Kuroi Taiyou 11.15% - Didn't watch this but heard that this is quite good. Then again, I'm sick of stories about hosts or hostesses especially after dramas like Kurokawa no Tecchou and Yaou.

7) Dare yori mo Mama wo Itosu 10.40% - Rather boring but I find Uchida Yuki and Kobayashi Satomi quite appealing. Too bad, that is not enough to sustain my interest so I dropped this befoe the halfway mark.

8) Taiyou no Uta 10.28% - The first episode is enough to make me puke, literally. For heaven's sake, can Yamada Takayuki do something else for a change? I fail to fathom why Sawajiri Erika's single got Oricon No.1 when her vocals aren't exactly impressive?

9) CA to Oyobi 9.51% - I wasted my time on the first episode and that's it. Mizuki Arisa is just not my cup of tea.

10) Dandori ~ Dance Drill ~ 8.95% - Still watching but I simply can't stand Eikura Nana's performance. Kato Rosa, Morita Ayaka, Kokubun Taichi and Kanno Miho plus the promised finale cheerleading scene are the only reasons keeping me from throwing this into the recycle bin.

11) PS Rashoumon 8.85% - Still watching. Judgement to be passed later.

12) Shimokita Sundays 7.30% - Same as above

13) Regatta 5.47% - Terrible. Hayami Mokomichi went overboard on the angst of his character and the story felt so excruciatingly painful instead of spreading a positive image for summer. Definitely not suited for the warm weather.

*Those in green - above 15%, in red - below 10%. Comments in purple.

My Boss My Hero and Kekkon Dekinai Otoko were the clear winners, be it in terms of ratings or critical reviews and it was a two-legged race right to the end. However, for the rest, it was more like a race to see who could go lower in terms of ratings. Given the fact that 5 out of 13 went below the passing mark, it gives an idea of the quality of dramas we had in this season which failed to pull in the viewers.

Traditionally, summer dramas tend to do not as well as other seasons' offerings due to the summer vacation where most of the students are not at home. Due to the severity of the problem, many magazines had features or post-mortems to see where the issue is.

Frankly speaking, I don't think it's a problem with adaptations since there are many good stories around in the form of novels, manga, anime or even foreign movies. Just look at what My Boss My Hero managed to achieve. Adaptations can work both ways. It has a sound structure to attract a core fanbase but if you spoil the feel of the original, brickbats are to be expected. As such, given the current trend, we will definitely see more adaptations coming our way.

Original scripts are now a minority especially if you consider that only 4 out of 13 are fresh stories. And the results aren't exactly encouraging since Kekkon Dekinai Otoko is the sole survivor to go beyond 15%. Which just serves to tell the TV stations that they should not bear the risks of dishing out more original scripts?!

I'm rather disappointed with what I've seen this season except for the Top 2 so I think the autumn season which promises much more should be a reversal of fortunes for J-dramas.

Trivia...

Highest rated debut episode: Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (20.2%)
Lowest rated debut episode: Regatta (9.5%)

Highest rated single episode: My Boss My Hero Ep 10 (final) - 23.3%
Lowest rated single episode: Regatta Ep 5 & 7 - 4.3%

Greatest rise in ratings: 6% for My Boss My Hero Ep 6 (from 14.6% to 20.6%)
Greatest fall in ratings: 6.9% for Taiyou no Uta Ep 2 (from 13.8% to 6.9%)