Happy New Year 2025 + Dorama World's Recap of 2024

First of all, a very happy new year to everyone! あけましておめでとうございます！

This year marks the 19th year since I started the blog and honestly, I would never have expected to be still doing this after so many years if you had asked me back in 2006. Regardless of whether you are new here or have been longtime readers, I would like to thank you for your support and hope that this little space will continue to be of value and meaning to everyone who are fellow fans of Japanese entertainment especially dramas and movies.

Without spending any money on ads to promote this blog other than posting through the official social media channels, awareness of this site was probably limited to those who had followed me from the forum days in the beginning. This also meant that people wouldn't have found out about this site that easily unless my posts were indexed on search engines or they happened to come across my PR posts on social media. As such, it was such a pleasant surprise to see that this blog finally crossed the 5 million views' milestone this year even with this lack of publicity (without me realising it). Going by how "fast" the blog is chalking up views, I think it will be another couple of years before the next million milestone is reached though. ^__^

And so, I thought about marking the entry into a new year by looking back at my highlights on this blog for the year 2024.

Compared to 2023 when I watched J-drama series largely on TVer, my source of dramas and movies significantly expanded beyond this platform as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video started adding more titles at a steady pace in 2024 other than their own productions. 

My final tally in 2024 is as such:

* 61 titles compared to 34 in 2023

* 34 dramas + 27 movies

* Watched mostly on Netflix (36 out of 61), followed by TVer (9) and Amazon Prime Video (8)

* Among the key TV networks, watched the most dramas from TBS (10) followed by 7 from Amazon Prime Video and 5 from WOWOW

* Among the titles I watched, I'm glad that most of my picks met or exceeded my expectations (about 80% rated 5 and above). However, it seems that I have a comparatively lower success rate with movies because 8 of the 12 titles I did not like were movies.

* My top 7 highest rated titles this year (ratings in brackets) are as follows:

1) Lion no kakurega (10)

2) Zenryouiki ijou kaiketsushitsu (9.5)

3) Unmet Aru nougekkai no nikki / Yoake no subete / Warau Matoryoushika / Grand Maison Tokyo / Umi ni nemuru daiyamondo (9)

Note that other than "Shin kuukou senkyo" which I did not write a review for, the other titles I watched were all covered here so you can click on the "Quick Review" tab on the right side of the blog for these entries.

The reviews for "Grand Maison Tokyo SP" and "Oshi no ko" (drama version) will be posted in due course in January 2025.

While our preferences may differ, I still hope that my reviews can serve two purposes i.e. allow people to find out more about titles which may potentially be their cup of tea and for those who had watched those titles to read about different perspectives and share their own views and observations. As such, if it just so happens that I didn't like what you thought more favourably of or vice versa, let's not get upset or worked up over this difference in opinions because even the most popular or supposedly hit drama/movie will have its detractors anyway.

With the increase in the number of titles I watched in 2024, this had also led to the number of reviews I wrote as compared to previous years. I hope to be able to stay on course with doing this in 2025 as much as time allows.

In addition, I am happy to note that I managed to write a number of special reports and analytical pieces about the J-ent industry this year. For those who have missed this, you can check out the Analysis/Special Report tab.

To be honest, I am not very happy with using X nowadays ever since how messed up it got due to its new owner but given that Dorama World has a significant following there, it's not easy to get the users to migrate to another platform. However, if there comes a time when I really have to exit that platform, I am glad to note that I expanded Dorama World's social media presence to new platforms i.e. Instagram, Threads and Bluesky. Hopefully, there's one platform which you can use as a backup for now if there ever comes a day when I have to say goodbye to X or even Facebook.

And this wraps up my recap of 2024 on Dorama World. I hope the new year brings good things for you and everyone can stay safe and happy! Take care ~

The 121st Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2024) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Matsumura Hokuto - Saionji-san wa kaji wo shinai

2) Sakurai Sho - Warau Matoryoushika

3) Ikematsu Sousuke - Umi no hajimari

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Matsumura Hokuto - Saionji-san wa kaji wo shinai
2) Ikematsu Sousuke - Umi no hajimari
3) Abe Ryouhei - GO HOME ~ Keishicho mimoto fumeinin soudanshitsu ~
4) Takeuchi Ryoma - Black Pean Season 2
5) Mukai Koji - Mountain Doctor

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Matsumura Hokuto - Saionji-san wa kaji wo shinai
2) Sakurai Sho - Warau Matoryoushika
3) Nomura Kouta - Otto no katei wo kowasu made
4) Ikematsu Sousuke - Umi no hajimari
5) Tozuka Junki - Tora ni tsubasa

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Hosoda Kanata - Ano ko no kodomo
2) Sakurai Sho - Warau Matoryoushika

3) Matsuyama Kenichi - Tora ni tsubasa

Yoshida Aoi - Kazoku dakara aishitan janakute, aishita no ga kazoku datta

5) Ikematsu Sousuke - Umi no hajimari

Source: The Television

Quick Review #69: Warau Matoryoushika - Summer 2024

Title: Warau Matoryoushika / 笑うマトリョーシカ

Rating: 9 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who like a good suspense drama which will keep you guessing right till the end and are fans of the cast especially Mizukawa Asami and Sakurai Sho

WARNING: Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- It's been a while since I encountered a drama where time flew by so fast -  each episode ended in no time because it was so engaging and there was so much to see and think about. The one-week wait for the next episode was so "painful" but this is precisely what a drama series should be able to achieve or else people wouldn't return for the next episode. In this sense, credit goes to the scriptwriter and/or the original novelist who were really skillful at maintaining the viewers' interest and kept people coming back for more. 

While I have not read the original novel, it appears that there were some parts which differed slightly from the novel based on social media posts. And since those who had read the novel seemed largely positive about this drama, it seems to suggest that the crew and cast did a good job with this adaptation.

- Some parts of the story touched on pretty touchy and controversial issues like discrimination, sidelining of underprivileged groups or the minority, psychological control and manipulation of supposedly weak-minded people which would typically be seen in dramas from WOWOW or Netflix. As such, for TBS to do this was somewhat unusual but a pleasant surprise for me. Since the story didn't try too hard to preach or take an obvious side, there was room for viewers to consider the issues and form their own views on these topics.

- While Sakurai Sho did not have a lot of airtime in the middle of the story (perhaps linked to his on-site reporting of the Paris Olympics for NTV?), he really delivered a fantastic performance as Seike Ichiro. The true self hidden behind that smiling face sent shivers down my spine and you definitely have to check out the two showdown/confrontation scenes he had with Suzuki Toshiya (Tamayama Tetsuji) slightly past the midway mark and Michiue Kanae (Mizukawa) in the finale which were especially brilliant. 

From the beginning, I had the theory that Seike could not have been manipulated by the people around him and would do a total reversal by the end because that would be the most exciting outcome contrary to everything happening as expected. This was despite the story leading everyone into believing that he was being controlled by the people closest to him with ill intentions. As such, the final revelation wasn't a surprise to me at all but the way he talked about his planned revenge on all those who tried to manipulate was so chilling as if he was totally detached from the situation and looking it from outside.

For those who have doubts about Sakurai's acting, I have to admit that the level of satisfaction I get from watching him can vary and that's coming from a longtime Arashi fan who you may think would be biased towards him to begin with. Even so, I still cannot say that every performance he had put up over the years was top-notch. Personally, I've always thought that he excelled at playing roles with dual personalities or with a slightly more serious touch especially the kind/good persona hiding the dark self so it's not surprising that my top 3 favourites of his roles to date would be "Tengoku ni ichiban chikai otoko", "Kazoku Game" and now, this drama. 

While I don't think that Sakurai can't do other genres at all, there are indeed some limitations which do prevent people from thinking of him as a versatile actor and his image gets in the way at times. Nonetheless, I thought that "Daibyouin Senkyo" was a welcome change and a good attempt to do something different since it allowed him to do some action scenes despite his lack of an athletic image to date (you would known why if you had watched "VS Arashi"). Unfortunately, the second series was kinda disappointing because the novelty from the first series couldn't be replicated in the sequel. This time though, I'm glad to say that Sakurai managed to hit jackpot with Seike so he should really consider doing more serious roles in future, if possible or at least those which doesn't make him try too hard to fit the role. And not always having to take on the lead role would be a good direction to take as seen from this example.

- Mizukawa really carried the story well as Michiue on both the professional and personal fronts. While I do feel that Michiue's actions at times were too reckless and put people around her at risk unnecessarily, I can also see her character's conviction to seeking the truth and justice. Likewise, she also managed to show Michiue's struggle of how to balance work with family commitments in a convincing manner.

The chemistry she had with Sakurai was also evident here since they played a married couple before in the "Pikanchi" movies. There was this unmistakable tension between their characters which had some suggestion of romantic sparks at times (deliberate misleading in the plot though). However, the multi-level complexity displayed in the story reflected the complicated relationship between Seike and Michiue in the story because it was hard to set a clear definition for them - neither friends nor enemies. As such, it was such a joy to watch their onscreen interaction in this drama.

Disliked: 

- One thing I didn't quite like was how quick and short the Seike backstory was presented. It was like over in no time in the final episode which consisted mainly of a monologue by Seike to explain how he came to realise that everyone was using him for their selfish goals and he plotted to turn the tables on them. I would have wanted to see more of him showing how he felt and the conflicting emotions he had as he wondered why he was doing this and what kind of outcome was he ultimately after. A bit too little and too late.

- Getting Takaoka Saki to play Sakurai Sho's mother was something of a double-edged sword. In reality, Takaoka is just 10 years older than Sakurai so for her to play his mother did bother me a little as compared to those who may not know this fact. Then again, the story depicted Hiroko as a woman who looked very beautiful and youthful despite being in her 60s so in that sense, Takaoka definitely fits the bill in terms of appearance. Just that fact gets into the way of fiction in this case.

- Although the storyline shifted to 5 years later at the end, there was hardly any noticeable difference especially when it comes to the appearance of the characters. Perhaps more needs to be done to make the distinction more apparent?

Preview of "Warau Matoryoushika" - Summer 2024

Title: Warau Matoryoushika / 笑うマトリョーシカ

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 28 June 2024

Timeslot: Fridays at 10pm

Broadcast by: TBS

Original novel by: Hayami Kazumasa

Theme Song: "Sunshade" by YU-KA

Cast: Mizukawa Asami, Tamayama Tetsuji, Maruyama Tomomi, Wada Masato, Watanabe Dai, Sota Ryousuke, Aoki Yuzu, Nishiyama Jun, Hamao Noritaka, Nakayama Masei, Sakuya, Watanabe Ikkei, Otaka Akira, Yajima Kenichi, Kunihiro Tomiyuki, Tonesaku Toshihide, Ogi Shigemitsu, Kato Masaya, Tsutsui Mariko, Takaoka Saki & Sakurai Sho