Spring 2009 Drama Ratings Ranking

Here is the long overdue report on the ratings battle in Spring 2009! A key point as to the delay was because of the irregular start and end dates recently. In the past, the dramas would all start in the same month and end within days of one other. However, there are some dramas which deliberately start late for various reasons and end in the midst of another season or stretch for more than the usual 3 months. Unforseeen circumstances like what is happening to Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4 is something which cannot be averted though. This makes it really difficult to determine which season the drama belongs to and I always have to wait until the final OA of all dramas before I can start to write this analysis. Frankly speaking, I do not like this trend at all because the comparison doesn't seem fair given that the OA period is different. In addition, by continuing the broadcast while the new dramas are yet to begin, seems to give an invisible advantage to the drama which is still going on. And that is why I was really reluctant to include MR.BRAIN in the spring lineup.

For this season, we have Kimura Takuya's "MR.BRAIN" at the No.1 spot with an average rating of 20.48%. This is exactly what I was talking about. I was waiting for the final broadcast on 11 July before I could conclude the results when the rest of the competition were already finished with the OA by end of June. If this drama had the same number of episodes as per normal i.e. (10 or 11), this would have stretched to the end of July. My guess is that preparations for this drama took much longer (that futuristic set and equipment could take ages to assemble) as compared to the rest of the dramas so they had no choice but to delay the broadcast.

Even though this drama grabbed the No.1 spot with its average rating of 20.48%, I am not impressed at all and definitely do not accept this result. I actually had the thought of dropping this drama from this analysis because of the irregular OA period. I felt especially indignant as the 2nd placed drama was much better in terms of many areas and deserved this title more than "Mr.Brain". That last episode really made my blood boil to the extent that I do not know how I should write the review. I need a few more days to cool down before I can think logically.

To summarize, dumping lots of money and assembling big names doesn't mean that this is a good drama! For heaven's sake, those who get KimuTaku to appear in their dramas should get this into their heads! Although 4 episodes out of 8 got a rating of more than 20%, I do not know if there is anyone who feels the same way as me. Sometimes, the galore of guests turn out to have a negative effect on the ratings especially when their roles are full of loopholes or deliberately written in such a way to put KimuTaku's Tsukumo in the limelight.

At 2nd place with an average rating of 17.14%, we have BOSS which can be said to be a glitzy version of the usual police detective story. Most of the time, we see police detectives in dark suits, looking gruffy and tired, stubborn and unrelenting to find out the truth etc. BOSS doesn't take all these stereotypes and rehash into a drama. It revolutionizes the whole concept. As seen from their opening credits and the website's front page, they potray their police detectives as a group of street-savvy, glamourous, unique and unconventional people. This is in line with the story setting since the people who form the Special Crimes unit are supposedly the outcasts who cannot fit into the constraints of a rigid organization. This is an extremely refreshing look at the image of police detectives. In addition, the stories in most episodes are very engaging and intriguing. I would like to mention three of the most memorable cases i.e. the first episode with Takeda Tetsuya (the bomb specialist), Ep 6 where Shida Mirai plays a genius high school student who takes on the police with guts and the final episode which has a big twist that catches people unawares. If there is one problem I would like to point out from this episode, it would be consistency. Some episodes are of an extremely high quality but some of them are seriously lacking. For example, the Yamada Takayuki story which lasted 2 episodes, was kinda boring and predictable. As such, I would like to say that this drama is close to perfection but not quite matching up to the requirement of being a classic yet. Keep visiting this website for a detailed review of this drama soon!

At No.3 with a rating of 14.82%, we have Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou ~. I am surprised because this drama didn't enjoy much attention pre-season. For dramas like this on controversial social themes, it can go either way, in an extreme manner. Although this drama's average rating is not considered a hit yet (nowadays, anything above 15% is a hit), the production quality, acting and storyline were done very nicely. NTV is really good at handling such stories as seen from past hits like 14-sai no Haha and Hikaru to Tomo ni so that's probably why they dare to challenge such controversial themes time and again. For a detailed review of this drama, click on the tag for this drama.

And here's the rest of the ranking and some comments about these drams:

4) Rinjou 14.48% - Received lots of critical acclaim. I have only watched the first episode so far but the quality of the story and acting is pretty good. At least much better than what I saw in Voice last season.
5) Shiroi Haru 12.60% - I've not watched this yet but heard that this is a pretty good drama with a not-so-happy ending.
6) The Quiz Show 12.08% - Read my detailed review for the analysis
7) Hisatsu Shigotonin 2009 11.21% - Did not watch this
8) Atashinchi no Danshi 10.94% - I get the feel that this is a remake of HanaKimi i.e. the one-girl-many-ikemen formula so I'm not too keen. And after watching Innocent Love, I just don't feel the same way for Horikita Maki as before.
9) Konkatsu! 10.63% - One of the biggest flops this season and languishing in single-digit territory for most of the season. It made history, but not in a good way. Still undecided as to whether to watch this. / Yakou no Kaidan - A low-budget version of the usual classy and high quality Matsumoto Seicho dramas. I gave up after Ep 5 because things were not improving at all.
11) Hanchou 10.49% - Didn't watch this.
12) Smile 10.15% - I watched the first 10 minutes and is still undecided as to whether to carry on.
13) Meitantei no Okite 9.47% - Same reason as Smile but the likelihood of me continuing to watch this is higher.
14) God Hand Teru 8.72% - Didn't watch this.
15) 33pun Tantei 8.55% - I gave up this drama in the first season.
16) Boku no Imouto 8.01% - Although I like Odagiri Jo, I don't like Nagasawa Masami. And the story bored me to tears in just 10 minutes.
17) Fufudou 7.77% - I didn't watch this.
18) Majo Saiban 7.34% - Still watching this but I have lots of complaints about the storyline.
19) LOVE GAME 5.33% - Didn't watch this at all.