It's no secret that I am a huge anime fan, but I also watch shows with real people in them. Recently I finished a couple of Japanese dramas and thought I'd share some thoughts on them.

[CHANGE]
I was intrigued by the theme and the lead actor Kimura Takuya and decided to watch this. The world of Japanese politics is obviously not a subject I'm familiar with, but the show makes it so that the audience can learn and understand it better along with the protagonist Asakura Keita. The show is a human drama with politics, conspiracy, comradeship, and romance.

It's moving to see Asakura touching people's lives and walking toward the goal of making Japan a citizen ruled nation, with his honesty and willingness as well as his gradually increasing group of trusty allies. The ending puts things back to square one, yet turns a new page in Japan's political history. What an ending. A great show indeed.

[クロサギ]
I picked up this show randomly without knowing what it's about, and it wasn't too bad. The lead actor Yamashita Tomohisa was a new face for me, but I've seen the two female leads from other shows before. Given the show's theme and nature, it's full of mind boggling frauds and countering swindles. It also centres around the conflicting emotions of the two converse leads.

With the original manga still on-going, it's expected to have an unresolved ending. At least the two were given the chance to face their feelings and reaffirm their resolution on what they want to do, so it's all good.

[Tomorrow～陽はまたのぼる～]
I actually picked up this show because I was impressed with Kanno Miho in the Hatarakiman drama. That, and I recognized the name Takenouchi Yutaka from Long Vacation (possibly my brother's favourite Japanese drama), and I've always enjoyed medical dramas. Nothing really conjures deep consideration like life and death matters do. And I was not one bit disappointed by the show.

The episodes dealt with various issues, including personal, family, and even municipal. I was moved to tears quite a few times, and the ending theme song Hikari always seemed to play at the right time to intensify the emotions. I really liked the climax at the end and how it brought everything together in a full circle and connected with the beginning. The cast as well as the town were able to overcome their difficulties and stood up strong at the end, just as the title implies. Excellent drama. Strongly recommended.

[Code Blue-ドクターヘリ緊急救命-]
Another medical drama I picked up along with Tomorrow. Code Blue deals with emergency cases and has a more serious aspect on the capacity and limit of medicine when it comes to people's lives. While Tomorrow has a wider cast (hospital staff & townspeople) and doesn't dwell on the issues of the main characters for too long, Code Blue has a narrower cast of medical staff and focuses on the progress and development of the main characters.

The official pairing seems to lean toward Aizawa x Shiraishi, but I prefer Aizawa x Hiyama. Shiraishi feels too much of a 'good girl' and hasn't grown much by the end IMO. Hiyama, on the other hand, has developed nicely and doesn't hesitate to show her care and passion. One funny thing was that I didn't realize Aizawa was played by Yamashita Tomohisa. He looked and felt so different from his role in Kurosagi; I wouldn't have suspected him being the same person at all if I didn't accidentally match the name with Kurosaki one day. I blamed it on the hair. XD

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It may just be a coincidence, but I've found that unless romance is a main focus of the show, the male and female leads are rarely together by the end of the show. Oh well. It's fine with me as long as the main theme, be it politics or medical or whatever, is properly explored. I guess it leaves more room for imagination for the audience and fanfic writers...

I don't follow Japanese drama so I don't know what's in line for the next season. Considering that October marks the start of a huge season for anime, I probably won't have time for Japanese drama. Just from glancing over the list of the new anime, I've already decided on at least 8 as must watch and 5 more as considering...