​Japanese Comedy Doramas – Part 1

Japanese Comedy Doramas – Part 1

We all watch all types of dramas, depending on our mood and taste. When we need a good laugh, we watch comedies. However this genre can be pretty tricky. There are many forms of comedies, from slapstick, to parody, to anarchic, to black comedy and so on, and each has its own audience. What I have noticed as well is, when watching comedies from different countries, each country has its own brand of comedy that distinguishes itself from the other and can resonate with viewers differently.

Comedy isn’t my favourite genre, but it is an important part of my drama watching.  Sometimes I just need to watch something that makes me forget any pain I’m going through, or any stress that has taken over my life. It is the perfect remedy. Throughout my Asian drama watching experience, I have found that Japanese comedies suited my taste most. Among the ones I’ve watched, there are a number of them that became more than a mere drama that relieves my stress, but I discovered such a gem that left the drama in my mind and heart no matter how much time passes. I decided to share them with you guys.

Part one is an introduction of older dramas that aired some time in the previous decade. Now lets go for it!

Manhattan Love Story        

This drama is among my favourites. I’ve watched it early on when I first got into Japanese dramas, and until now it remain in my heart. It can be considered a sort of parody to love triangles, squares, pentagon or whatever shape that we usually watch in dramas. The setting is in a coffee shop named “Manhattan” with a passionate yet very shy owner. His coffee shop is next door to a Television office, and many of the characters are involved in some way in show business. Much of the drama is the internal dialog the owner of the coffee shop, or as he may like to be called, “Master”, has with himself, as he tries to analyze the love lives of his customers. He himself is involved in this love story, and his analysis is a desperate measure to find a solution that will make everyone happy.

Kisarazu Cat's Eye

I cannot emphasize enough how hilarious this drama is. Having a terminally ill lead, the only tears you will have are the tears of laughter, I promise. The premise is, a 21-year-old Bussan learns that he has cancer and only has six months to live. To give meaning for the remainder of his short life, he asks his friends, and former high school baseball club mates, to become burglars and steal from criminals and support their high school baseball team. What is amazing about this drama isn’t really about the story, but mostly the characters, and the direction. You will meet many well-known actors in their early days here, and though they might’ve not excelled in their acting yet, they sure had the chemistry. The end of each episode gets the most hysterical event happening, and the way the series of events leads to this result is amusing.

Love shuffle

This is one of the better-known dramas of the decade, but that doesn’t prevent it from being memorable and funny. This drama might cater to a wider audience with its leads and the romance. As the title suggests, this drama is about four couples that decided to go through an experiment by shuffling partners every week, and experience dating others than their current partner. The idea came about by four of them, living in the same building, getting trapped in the elevator, and opening up and complaining about their love lives. Rather than dating, this drama is mostly about self-discovery. Only when we understand ourselves, what we really want and aspire for, that we will find the right partner for us. The characters involved are as different as can be, have a varying set of values, and all gets tested here. The comedy is present throughout, but additional themes are also explored. There are couples that have a more interesting story, while others were more of a plot device. 

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e A. K. A. Hana Kimi (2007)

That is another popular drama, and for good reasons. Based on a manga of the same name, there are many adaptations of this story. I have to admit I’ve only watched this one and the kversion, which caused me to rewatch this one (rewatching is a rare event for me) to refresh my memory. The curious thing is, I enjoyed it the second time even more than the first. The premise of the drama is unbelievable, ludicrous really. The only reason it worked so well here, and did not work for me in the other version is that is doesn’t take itself seriously. The whole idea of a girl dressing up as a boy to attend an all boys school is turned into a device for us to discover the school, its politics, and its unique students. More than just a romance, the friendship was the heart of it, as our heroin gets to know her classmates better. She becomes one of the guys. Also many of the students are well known stars today so you can see how they all started.

Stand Up!!        

This one took me a long while to start, and I only did so for the cast. I really wanted to see them in their early days and oh boy did I discover that I was missing out! It was pure fun with the most endearing story about friendship I’ve seen. Four boys discover they’re the last virgins in school (which is kinda hard to believe when you see the cast) and want to change their status during summer holidays. Despite their obsession about Sex and whatnot, those four have such pure hearts. They’re not perfect but have some innocence in them that seems out of place among those around them. There is an event in the drama that I didn’t enjoy how it was dealt with, which in my view wasn’t dealt with heavily enough. It’s just my opinion and it did not prevent me from enjoying the drama overall and feel sad when I had to leave them in the last episode.

Unubore Deka

Meaning conceited detective, this drama is about a romantic detective who keeps falling in love with female criminals. He always gives said criminals the choice of an arrest warrant or a marriage proposal, and you can guess which one they choose. I’m not sure how famous that drama is, but I really enjoyed this drama. The setup is repetitive and pretty predictable, but what makes this drama unique is the “Unubore club” the detective is in, with a bunch of men from different profession all under the same impression that they are famous with the ladies. Watching their antics is really what amused me the most. It is a drama where a lot of overacting may be found, but I found it all suitable for the characters.

That is it for now. Part two will involve more recent dorama that manage to imprint itself as original and unique as those from the previous decade.