Revised HamsapSukebe awards 2008-2009

Edit: Oops, completely forgot about Soratobu Taiya. Thanks to Jung for mentioning it.


BEST DORAMAS OF 2008

1) Gonzo

Perfect police mystery dorama, except for the part where 500 police storm a house to capture on dude. Great acting, great writing, just superb.

2) Saito-san

Never has a suburban housewife dorama been so entertaining and sadly, I doubt the genre will ever reach the heights of Saito san.

3) Shika Otoko

 Best example of very slow 6 episodes and suddenly it all comes into place.  A simple story done very well.

4) The Quiz Show

New addition to the top 5. A great example of a low budget and great story dorama. Do not watch the stupid second season!

5) Muri na Renai

Natsukawa Yui is awesome and Sakai Masaaki is great as the former singer turned producer. Great dialogue by the writer of Saigo kara Nibanme no Koi.


Worth watching: OL Nippon (bumped for Quiz Show), Ashita no Kita Yoshio, Daisuki! (only for Fukuda Saki), Nanase Futatabi, Barai no nai Hanaya, Osen,  Akai Ito, Pandora, Taiyo to Umi no Kyoushitsu, Hachi one Diver, Gira Gira, Scandal.

BEST DORAMAS OF 2009

1) Love Shuffle

Still on of the most fun doramas with smart dialogue by Nojima Shinji. Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi is turning out to be as good.

2) Jin

Such a great first season. Uchino Masaaki and Nakatani Miki have a lot to do with how good it is. Too bad they screwed up the second season.

3) Shiroi Haru

Slightly flawed but Abe Hiroshi is just transcendent in his acting. No one else could have made it work. I must have watched this at least 4 times.

4) Fumo Chitai

Its kind of cheating that Fumo Chitai stretched between 2009 and 2010. 

5) Soratobu Taiya

Soratobu Taiya is a very good Wowow dorama about a corporate cover up and the people involved in it. I like how it looks at the matter from different perspectives but never loses the pacing of the story. Looking back at my reviews, I had actually wanted to wait for the subbing to finish before doing the 2008 awards but the subbing took a long time. 


Honourable mention: Rinjo, Akai Ito, Majo Saiban, Jyoou Virgin, Futatsu no Spica, Ninkyo Helper, Saru Lock, Liar Game 2, Shinya Shokudo, Untouchable, Call Centre no Koibito. Shinya Shokudo was just that good enough to make top 5 and Untouchable is another late addition to the list.

Looking back, 2008 and 2009 were damn good years for jdoramas. A lot shows which can be considered for top 10 all time doramas and plenty of shows that can be argued should make the top 5. Caveat: I have yet to watch Natsukawa Yui's Top Sales although its been sitting on my shelf fora few years.