Summer 2008 Drama Ratings Ranking

The summer drama season has finally ended so here are the results of the ratings ranking!

As you can see from the first picture, taking the top spot is Code Blue from FujiTV. It has an average rating of 15.87% which is 1.08% higher than the second-placed drama. Despite the presence of another medical drama this season i.e. Tomorrow, both have different themes and were shown on different days thus there wasn't a direct heads-on clash. Of the top 3 dramas, this is the only title which I'm watching. As I have yet to finish this drama, I can't say whether I like this drama but the tempo of the plot is pretty engaging to keep viewers hooked. Tomorrow is better in terms of the emotional factor, at least based on my comparison of what I've seen so far from Code Blue. However, the sight of Yamashita Tomohisa still irks me and I wish he can stop this act-cool style of acting which seems very similar to what Kimura Takuya has been doing. I guess I will have a proper review of this drama once I finish watching it so I will reserve my comments (be it good or bad) for the time being.

No.2 is yet another FujiTV drama i.e. Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu which stars Oda Yuji, Kitagawa Keiko and a bunch of young actors. The average rating of this drama is 14.79%. Well, the main reason why I did not even touch this drama is largely because of my lack of tolerance for more passionate-teacher themed dramas. Over the years, starting with GTO, we've had countless of similar theme dramas so unless there's really something unique about the teacher e.g. the demonic teacher Akutsu played by Amami Yuki (Joou no Kyoshitsu), I stay clear of passionate teacher dramas. And from the trailers I've seen, the passionate index is much higher than before so it's a big pain to see Oda Yuji acting like that. Moreover, in the student lineup, only Tanimura Mizuki and Kitano Kii interests me so my interest in the drama is extremely low.

And rounding up the Top 3, we have Yasuko to Kenji from NTV with an average rating of 13.07% which is 1.72% lower than the No.2 drama. As you can see, the difference between the Top 3 is more than 1% which seems to suggest that competition at the top is not as stiff. The differences among lower-ranked dramas are much closer. Anyway, this is another drama which I doubt I'll ever watch. I like Matsuoka Masahiro BUT I have no interest in his character who seems to be potrayed as a sister-con (someone with a sister complex). Likewise, I don't feel like watching Hirosue Ryoko behaving like a ditzy woman so there is little possibility of me watching this to see why it has a relatively high rating in this season's lineup.

Like I've said before, dramas with high ratings are not always good ones to watch. And it's a pity that a lot of times, the good ones are like gems waiting to be discovered but most people simply miss them. I've had enough of many dramas packaged as idol-promotion vehicles where some of them are seriously lacking in the acting skills department and yet keep getting leading roles. I hope things will look up in the next season where quality matters more rather than popularity and the good dramas will get their due recognition.

And here goes the rest of the lineup where I've indicated my recommended selection...

4) Tomorrow 12.73% - Recommended
5) Shibatora 12.52% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
5) Monster Parent 12.20% - Dropped halfway during Ep 1
6) Maou 11.51% - Recommended
7) Gonzo 10.74% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
8) Seigi no Mikata 10.34% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
9) Yottsu no Uso 9.42% - In progress / Just finished Ep 3
10) 33 pun Tantei 9.19% - Dropped halfway after Ep 2
11) Ando Natsu 9.18% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
12) Dageki Tenshi Ruri 7.23% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
13) Loto 6 de 3 oku 2 sen man ateta otoko 6.64% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
14) Gakkou ja oshierarenai 6.51% - No comments / Didn't watch at all
15) Koizora 6.40% - No comments / Didn't watch at all