On the last day of 2008, here is my recap of my favourites and misses as well as a ranking of the dramas in terms of ratings.
Winter 2008 (Jan to Mar)
In this season, I watched the following:
1) Hachimitsu to Clover
2) Ashita no, Kita Yoshio
3) Lost Time Life
And I can't choose any one of them as my favourite because...
1) I loved Hachimitsu to Clover a lot...I mean the anime and manga versions. However, the real-life adaptation movie has disappointed me greatly. I was hoping for the drama to do better but then the producers were simply too ambitious and changed too much of the original setting. If they had ended the story at the juncture when Takemoto came back from his self-searching journey and left the rest in a sequel, it would have been better. Due to the need to fit so much material into one season, everything was a mess. The story structure was the biggest problem. Acting-wise, some of the cast members couldn't bring out the essence of the characters. The theme song was a redeeming point for the drama but still, I would have preferred Spitz or Sugashikao to do it since the title of the manga was inspired by their songs.
2) It started in a promising manner but when Yoshio knew about the fact his buddy was merely feigning his death and his marriage was a sham, he still wanted to die. That just made it a bit ridiculous. However, I like Kohinata Fumio's chemistry with Matsuda Ryuhei and the theme song by Yamazaki Masayoshi.
3) It was a series of hits and misses. Some of the stories were very good e.g. the ones which had Maki Youko, Ueno Juri, Eita and Tomochika. As such, on the whole, this series cannot be counted as a favourite for me.
Spring 2008 (April to June)
I watched the following:
1) CHANGE
2) Last Friends
3) Around 40
Only Last Friends can be considered as a favourite in this season.
1) I simply don't get the hype over KimuTaku at times. Enough said about him. The theme song by Madonna was merely a promotional gimmick and just wasn't appealing to me. The good points are getting to know more about the political system structure as well as the strong supporting cast e.g. Abe Hiroshi.
2) Only the corny last line really riled me up. Other than that, this drama is quite good. Keep a lookout for Ueno Juri and Eita's performances. That scene when Ryuka and Takeru hugged was simply touching!
3) Reminded me too much of past similar women at middle-age dramas especially Love Revolution. Very predictable story line.
Summer 2008 (July to September)
1) Maou
2) Tomorrow
1) I liked this a lot. As for the reasons, click on the Maou tab on the left and you can read the reviews.
2) Similarly, another favourite. The ending was a bit too idealistic but still the story was pretty engaging.
Autumn 2008 (October to December)
I finished watching the following:
1) Kaze no Garden
2) Ryuusei no Kizuna
3) Team Batista no Eikou
4) Innocent Love
1) Among the four dramas this season, this is my No.1 favourite. The quality of the story and acting was consistent from the start to the end. In addition, it didn't go overboard on the sentimental factor as emotions flowed smoothly instead of being potrayed as mere playacting. And to make it more memorable, this was Ogata Ken's last drama. What a pity that a great actor like him has passed on!
2) I like the climax scene very much. Full of intensity and great acting from Nino and Miura Tomokazu. However, the quality of the drama was inconsistent. Some episodes felt more interesting while some were boring. And I did not like some of the Kudo Kankuro-style jokes so this wasn't a big hit with me. I expected more from this drama. Detailed review coming up soon.
3) If Kaze no Garden was like a gentle stream and Ryuusei no Kizuna was like a river with varying degrees of speed at different points, this has got to be a waterfall. Tension built up really quickly and it was really tough to spot clues from the beginning. Detailed review coming up soon.
4) Boring. Horikita Maki tried too hard and I found her effort to smile while showing her teeth really hard to stomach. It was so fake. Maybe she tried too hard to change her image from a teenager to a mature woman. Kitagawa Yuujin, being a greenhorn at acting just seemed quite awkward at times. He has a warm smile though. Narimiya Hiroki looked good (much better than he was playing Morita in Hachimitsu to Clover) but his role didn't allow much room for development. Detailed review coming up soon.
As such, here is my Top 6 for the year 2008:
1) Kaze no Garden
2) Maou
3) Team Batista no Eikou
4) Ryuusei no Kizuna
5) Last Friends
6) Tomorrow
(I couldn't rank the remaining 6 dramas I watched because I don't think they are not quite deserving of a "Top" ranking.)
And here's the Top 20 drama ratings ranking for 2008 (in terms of average ratings):
1) Gokusen 22.81% - Spring (NTV)
2) CHANGE 22.08% - Spring (FujiTV)
3) Bara no Nai Hanaya 18.76% - Winter (FujiTV)
4) Last Friends 17.73% - Spring (FujiTV)
5) Ryuusei no Kizuna 16.59% - Autumn (TBS)
6) Code Blue 15.87% - Summer (FujiTV)
7) Kaze no Garden 15.81% - Autumn (FujiTV)
8) Saitou-san 15.61% - Winter (NTV)
9) ROOKIES 14.96% - Summer (TBS)
10) Taiyo to Umi no Kyoushitsu 14.79% - Summer (FujiTV)
11) Around 40 14.72% - Spring (TBS)
12) Innocent Love 13.60% - Autumn (FujiTV)
13) Koushonin 13.52% - Winter (TV Asahi)
14) Team Batista no Eikou 13.24% - Autumn (FujiTV)
15) Celeb to Binbou Tarou 13.16% - Autumn (FujiTV)
16) Zettai Kareshi 13.15% - Spring (FujiTV)
17) SCANDAL 13.12% - Autumn (TBS)
18) Yasuko to Kenji 13.07% - Summer (NTV)
19) Tomorrow 12.73% - Summer (TBS)
20) Shibatora 12.52% - Summer (FujiTV)
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