The State of Japanese Drama

[jade_frosts]

Actresses rush to the altar as ratings falter

By DOUG JACKSON
Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 21)

Why are hordes of TV1's leading drama queens suddenly rushing to get married? While a few recent ceremonies, notes Shukan Jitsuwa, were dekichatta kekkon (shotgun weddings), these actresses all had one predicament in common: Dramas on the small screen are mired in a swamp of bad ratings, and the TV divas are taking the impact right on their lovely chins.

Roles are scarce, and becoming scarcer, "so they're running to get hitched," says one entertainment reporter. Besides affording the chance to flaunt their happiness at rival actresses, the wedding bells and rings bring them a brief but welcome flash of media recognition.

Anyway, what's the crisis here? According to recent survey data, one problem is that the average twentysomething now watches television a paltry three hours a week.

"Four or five years ago, they watched an average of three hours of TV a day, so about 30 minutes a day represents a violent drop," comments entertainment critic Makoto Kanazawa.

Where's the disconnect with this audience? "Instead of watching TV, they come home and spend hours on the Net reading blogs and getting onto Mixi (Japan's version of MySpace) and YouTube," Kanazawa reports. "They can usually find the segments they want to see on YouTube, too, or store the programs on their hard drives. Even when they do watch TV, they're often yakking on their cellphones at the same time."

Inevitably, the dramas are being shortened to match the shortened attention span, which in turn means fewer places for commercial spots. "Sponsors are avoiding dramas because they're not drawing audiences, so the actresses that appear in them aren't needed," Kanazawa concludes, noting that two-hour productions appear to be especially vulnerable.

There's more to this dramatic twist of fate, mostly having to do with a disturbing lack of originality and inspiration in the shows themselves. Industry people disparagingly refer to this as san-ku (the three "ku"), reminiscent of the familiar 3-K employment problem -- "kitanai, kitsui, kiken," meaning "dirty, difficult, dangerous." In this case, the elements all include the phonetic ku. The first is komikku (comics), from which more scripts are being adapted; the second is remeekku, because the shows are often rehashes of earlier hits; and finally, there's the masuku, or cast selection.

The cumulative effects of fleeing viewers, derivative content and the same old faces are dire. A 15 percent viewer rating is considered the dividing line between success and failure, but most dramas these days are only managing to pull 12 or 13 percent, and some just 8 percent. Even regular shows that were huge in the 1990s have taken a hit in the ratings. For example, "Kayo Sasupensu Gekijo (Tuesday Suspense Theater)" was consistently pulling 20 percent, but not any more. Embarrassingly, several shows have even been canceled in mid-season.

"With fewer commercial spots to fund them, the money to produce dramas is drying up," one industry insider comments. "This September, for example, average revenues from commercials declined by 5 to 6 percent. Sponsors don't believe the commercials on TV are effective anymore; they're switching to Internet spots instead. They're also monitoring costs more closely, and trying to keep the number of commercials down. It looks like the money for dramas will continue to drop."

While Shukan Jitsuwa claims the careers of actresses and female tarento are on a downward curve, it says nothing about what the leading men in these productions are up to. Moonlighting at host clubs, perhaps, or hanging around in hotel bars to meet female high flyers?

More curiously, while the story mentions all the major commercial networks, it completely glosses over the state of NHK and its massive period pieces and other long-running dramas. But then NHK is going through its own emotional scandal with angry subscribers at the moment, so perhaps the writer took pity on the benighted national broadcaster.

[Lady Zhuge]

Ironically, this current crisis sounds like it'd make some good series material.

[jade_frosts]

Haha. They actually came up with a drama Hanayome wa Yakudoshi that had such a storyline last season, not precisely but close enough. It was shown last season and starred Ryoko Shinohara as a popular evening newscaster who loses her position to a younger, cute girl due to her age. She's faced with the choice of finding a man whose family owns a farm to take part in a reality series on finding love in the countryside or being sent to the company's warehouse to work.

Ryoko conveniently remembers that she had an ex-boyfriend in university (played by Yabe Hiroyuki), works her way into his life and persuades him to participate in her ruse. He reluctantly agrees but since he's been estranged from his family and hasn't been home for meany years, she ends up heading to the farm and winning over his mother on her own. Still, it's an interesting idea but the scriptwriter seemed unable to decide what to focus on. So Hanayome wa Yakudoshi turned into a meandering drama and it was quite difficult to believe that reel became real because there were no sparks between the two leads no thanks to the little screen time they shared each episode too.

For the record, this fall season alone, there were 2 sequels - Dr Koto Shinryoujo and Aibou, 1 remake - Sailor Fuku to Kikanjyuu, 3 manga adaptations - Nodame Cantabile, Teppan Shojou Akane and Damenzu Walker, and 1 movie adaptation - Kiraware Matsuko no Issho. The most number of dramas in a season that weren't based on an original drama script.

[jade_frosts]

I didn't know where to put this, but this thread seems suitable enough.

Annual Ranking of Most Satisfying TV Dramas, 2006 - Oricon
1. Dr Koto Shinryoujo 2006 - 74.9 pts
2. Unfair - 73.3 pts
3. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko - 72.6 pts
4. Iryu - Team Medical Dragon - 71.3 pts
5. Nodame Cantabile - 70.1 pts
6. Boku no Aruku Michi - 69.9 pts
7. Byakuyakou - 69.7 pts
8. Jikou Keisatsu - 69.6 pts
9. My Boss, My Hero - 69.2 pts
10. Kurosagi - 68.5 pts
11. Fugoh Keiji Deluxe - 67.8 pts
12. Top Caster - 67.7 pts
13. Busu no Hitomi ni Koi Shiteru - 67.6 pts
14. Bengoshi no Kuzu - 67.4 pts
15. Taiyo no Uta - 66.6 pts
16. Saiyuuki - 65.7 pts
17. Ns' Aoi - 65.2 pts
18. Fushin no Toki - Women's Wars - 65 pts
19. 14-sai no Haha - 64.7 pts
19. Yaoh - 64.7 pts

I'm surprised by some of the choices. I don't think Unfair was that good nor was Boku no Aruku Michi. But it's probably a good gauge of what audiences liked in the year 2006.

[Lady Zhuge]

How did they come up with those numbers? I didn't know Dr. Koto's Clinic was that well-received and even moreso than Iryu? Hmm...maybe I should check it out.

[jade_frosts]

How did they come up with those numbers? I didn't know Dr. Koto's Clinic was that well-received and even moreso than Iryu? Hmm...maybe I should check it out.

The ranking is based on an internet survey of 1,000 people from the Kansai region. 100 male and female respondents from each of the following groups: high school students, university students, 20 year olds, 30 year olds and 40 year olds.

The points are allocated in the following manner:
1) Entire drama: 30 pts
2) Main actors (performance, character, etc): 10 pts
3) Supporting actors (performance, character, etc): 10 pts
4) Drama theme: 10 pts
5) Story, script: 10 pts
6) Drama footage: 10 pts
7) Music: 10 pts
8) Artistry (location, etc), accessories/gadets, fashion: 10 pts

[jade_frosts]

I found the previous year's rankings though the points scored wasn't indicated.

Annual Ranking of Most Satisfying TV Dramas, 2005 - Oricon
1. Kyuumei Byoto 24 Ji III (Emergency Room 24 Hrs III)
2. Tiger & Dragon
3. Umizaru (Sea Monkeys)
4. Gokusen II
5. Ichi Litre no Namida (1 Litre of Tears)
6. Densha Otoko (Train Man)
7. Rikon Bengoshi ~ Handsome Woman (Divorce Lawyer ~ Handsome Woman)
8. Koi ni Ochitara ~ Boku no Seikou no Himitsu (When I Fall in Love ~ The Secret of My Success)
9. Dragonzakura
10. Ooku ~ Hana no Ran (Inner Palace ~ Flower Rebellion)
11. Yasashii Jikan (Affectionate Time)
12. Hana Yori Dango
13. Anego
14. Nobuta o Produce
15. Ima Ai ni Yukimasu (Be With You)
16. Ruri no Shima (Ruri's Island)
17. Ai no Uta (Ai's Song)
18. Aikurushii
19. Ganbatte Ikimasshoi! (Give it All!)
20. Nyokei Kazoku (Matriarchal Family)

[Lady Zhuge]

The ranking is based on an internet survey of 1,000 people from the Kansai region. 100 male and female respondents from each of the following groups: high school students, university students, 20 year olds, 30 year olds and 40 year olds.

The points are allocated in the following manner:
1) Entire drama: 30 pts
2) Main actors (performance, character, etc): 10 pts
3) Supporting actors (performance, character, etc): 10 pts
4) Drama theme: 10 pts
5) Story, script: 10 pts
6) Drama footage: 10 pts
7) Music: 10 pts
8) Artistry (location, etc), accessories/gadets, fashion: 10 pts

Thanks for your explanation, jade. It seems like "elderly folk" (i.e. those over 50) aren't a big target audience, eh?

Nice, I unknowingly watched the top 2 dramas of 2005. I'm a little surprised Nobuta wo Produce wasn't in the top 10.

[crazylife123]

not really a fan of j-dramas. somehow, the characters are too animated for me. seem like they're hyper all the time. dont really like the high pitch tone comes out every time they talk. i dont know. i guess i'm used to american/chinese/korean's series.

[strawberry]

Thanks for your explanation, jade. It seems like "elderly folk" (i.e. those over 50) aren't a big target audience, eh?

Nice, I unknowingly watched the top 2 dramas of 2005. I'm a little surprised Nobuta wo Produce wasn't in the top 10.

I am surprised too esp with Dragon Zakura being placed in the top ten spot. I would have thought Nobuta would be in the top spot or something.

Even Nino's Yasashii Jikan which not many people have heard of did better than Nobuta!

[jade_frosts]

Thanks for your explanation, jade. It seems like "elderly folk" (i.e. those over 50) aren't a big target audience, eh?

Nice, I unknowingly watched the top 2 dramas of 2005. I'm a little surprised Nobuta wo Produce wasn't in the top 10.

Nope they aren't, otherwise the television stations wouldn't be making such dramas which are evidently skewed towards younger audiences. Probably one drama in every ten or eleven each season are catered to more mature audiences, but if the "elderly folk" are factored into these polls, then we'd probably see mention of this year's taiga Komyou ga Tsuji and the drama Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari.

I think Nobuta o Produce appealed mainly to younger audiences so given the mix of poll respondents and other dramas on offer, it's performance in the rankings is understandable. In the end, everything boils down to personal preference. This is just a gauge of what dramas you should look out for.

[jade_frosts]

TV ratings get relatively complicated
Wm. Penn / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

Penn's Theory of TV Ratings Relativity is based on the general principle that ratings are a complex equation calculated by combining TV time and space with the downward gravitational pull of the medium itself while factoring in viewer and network expectations. In short, all ratings are relative.

Take, for example, the top-ten drama ratings for the week of Jan. 15-21. TBS and TV Asahi each had three series on the list while Fuji, the usual drama leader, managed only one, and the eighth-placed entry at that. The TBS dramas Karei-naru Ichizoku (Saturdays, 9 p.m., TBS network) and Hana Yori Dango Returns (Fridays, 10 p.m. TBS network) took first and third place with Video Research ratings of 21.8 and 19.2 percent respectively in the Kanto region.

At first glance, that sounds like good news for TBS, which had no top ten dramas at the end of last quarter. Yet really good ratings for a much-hyped, big-budget extravaganza like Karei-naru Ichizoku with an all-star cast led by Takuya Kimura, would be at least 30 percent. It has become folk legend that just about any drama featuring Kimura can expect to get ratings of that level, but that theory is being proven wrong this quarter.

In its first week, the series did bring in ratings of 30.5 percent in Kansai, where the story is set, but earned just 27.7 percent in Kanto. By Week 2, it was still on top but had plummeted almost two points in the Kansai region and six points in the Kanto region, an ominous sign for a drama TBS envisioned as a stellar way to celebrate its 55th anniversary. The cast are acting their hearts out, but the ratings dip suggests the series could sink quicker than that silly, fake giant carp contraption they floated in episode one. Yes, one can be on top and still not feel like a big winner. It's all relative.

Meanwhile, TV Asahi's three top-ten dramas are pretty impressive for a network for which drama expectations are usually quite low.

The network no doubt had higher hopes for Yukie Nakama's Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta (Thursdays, 9 p.m.), which started at 16.1 percent, before sinking to 10th place (14.8 percent) last week. But their popular Aibo detective series was fifth at 18.1 percent while the sequel to Tokumei Kakari-cho Tadano Hitoshi (Fridays, 11:15 p.m.) jumped from 13.4 to 15.5 percent last week--excellent ratings for a late-night drama.

It's a salaryman's fairy tale starring Katsunori Takahashi as the Clark Kent-style character Tadano. A mild-mannered salaryman by day, he becomes a corporate troubleshooter and a macho master of disguises at night, and always has enough energy left for a late-night tryst with a starlet who does not mind baring her breasts on TV.

Naturally, the show has developed quite a late-night following.

Yes, ratings are relative and the numbers don't always tell the whole story of the complicated pull of TV time and space.

[jade_frosts]

TV viewers in for the same old, same old
Wm. Penn / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

Rewind. Revise. Replay. Sequels, remakes and very familiar territory dominate the TV lineup this spring. On Japanese TV, you never have to wonder if you are experiencing deja vu because you really have seen it all before and will see it all again.

NHK's new morning serial Dondo Hare, starring Manami Higa and Masako Mori, starts April 2. It will be set in a venerable ryokan inn in Iwate Prefecture.

"Life in a ryokan" stories must be among the top five in frequency of appearance. This scenario comes in several varieties, including murder mystery and light comedy. But the standard model features a determined, modern young woman struggling to learn how to manage a traditional inn.

This is the plot NHK has in store for us this spring.

Ryokan dramas literally start from the ground up with the hardworking apprentices repeatedly doing squatting 50-meter dashes along long wooden hallways, trusty cleaning clothes in hand, polishing floors until they sparkle. Then they scurry about those spotless floors in spotless white tabi hoisting heavy trays of delicacies and delicately dealing with the whims of pampered guests, who naturally feel they can demand special attention since they are paying lots of money to sleep on the floor.

It's hard work but the heroine always perseveres.

The main challenge of this genre is inserting some originality into the predictable proceedings. NHK will attempt to do so by introducing a special guest in week five. That's when Ryu Si Won will show up at the inn playing--what else--a visiting South Korean movie star. Looks like they have at least their week-five ratings secured.

Among other sequels scheduled for this spring are Kuitan 2 on NTV, starring Noriyuki Higashiyama as the crime-solving gourmet and Fuji's Oniyome Nikki with Arisa Mizuki, who starred in Watashi o Ryokan ni Tsuretette, one of the best Japanese inn comedies, back in 2001.

An animated classic is also making a comeback this spring.

The fifth animated version of Shigeru Mizuki's Gegege no Kitaro starts April 1 (Sundays, 9-9:30 a.m., Fuji network).

Even Shakespeare cannot escape a modern remake this spring.

In Shakespeare Gendai-ban, a two-night NTV special in March (broadcast date not yet announced), scriptwriter Yumiko Inoue takes on the challenge of bringing the Bard into 21st-century Japan. Hope he has his cell phone. Toshikyuki Nishida will play an ailing supermarket magnate with three daughters in her version of King Lear while Hideaki Takizawa and Masami Nagasawa morph into a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.

[jade_frosts]

Most Satisfying Winter TV Dramas, 2007 - Oricon
1. Hana Yori Dango II (81.8 points)
2. Aibou (80.2 points)
3. Karei-naru Ichizoku (79.5 points)
4. Haken no Hinkaku (77.5 points)
5. Haikei Chichiuesama (75.6 points)
6. Tokumei Kakarichou Tadano Hitoshi (75.1 points)
7. Tokyo Tower ~ Okan to Boku, Tokidoki, Oton (73.8 points)
8. Himitsu no Hanazono (73.4 points)
9. Konshuu, Tsuma ga Uwaki Shimasu (72.4 points)
10. Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta (70.7 points)


Most Satisfying Autumn TV Dramas, 2006 - Oricon
1. Dr Koto Shinryosho (84.3 points)
2. Nodame Cantabile (83.9 points)
3. Boku no Aruku Michi (80.4 points)
4. 14-sai no Haha (71.9 points)
5. Kiraware Matsuko no Issho (69.2 points)
6. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi (68.9 points)
7. Komyo ga Tsuji ~ Yamauchi Kazutoyo no Tsuma (68.8 points)
8. Se-ra- Fuku to Kikanju (68.3 points)
9. Anna-san no Omame (68.0 points)
10. Yakusha Damashii (67.8 points)


Most Satisfying Summer TV Dramas, 2006 - Oricon
1. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (81.5 points)
2. My Boss, My Hero (76.7 points)
3. Fushin no Toki ~ Women's Wars (73.9 points)
4. Taiyo no Uta (72.1 points)
5. Hanayome wa Yakudoshi (70.5 points)
6. Dare Yorimo Haha Aisu (69.5 points)
7. Shimokita Sundays (67.2 points)
8. Dance Drill (64.4 points)
9. Sapuri (61.3 points)
10. CA to Oyobi! (60.5 points)


Most Satisfying Spring TV Dramas, 2006 - Oricon
1. Iryu ~ Team Medical Dragon (83.2 points)
2. Bengoshi no Kuzu (75.3 points)
3. Fugoh Keijii Deluxe (74.0 points)
4. Kurosagi (72.8 points)
5. Top Caster (72.5 points)
6. Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru (71.2 points)
7. Attention Please (70.8 points)
8. Oishii Puropozu (68.8 points)
9. Shichinin no Onna Bengoshi (68.2 points)
10. Primadam (60.6 points)


Most Satisfying Winter TV Dramas, 2006 - Oricon
1. Unfair (82.8 points)
2. Jikou Keisatsu (79.4 points)
3. Aibou (79.3 points)
4. Byakuyakou (75.1 points)
5. Ns' Aoi (71.8 points)
6. Yaoh (71.2 points)
7. Saiyuuki (70.4 points)
8. Kobayakawa Nobuki no Koi (70.1 points)
9. Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai (68.8 points)
10. Rondo (68.8 points)

[Lady Zhuge]

I'm not surprised about HYD 2, but thought HNH would be a little higher than it is. I had to google Aibou and it sounds like the type of series I'd definitely be interested in watching. I'm not sure where I'd be able to find the earlier seasons, though.

Is Dr Koto Shinryosho really that good? I was unimpressed with the first episode of season 1.

I totally agree with the number ones for the summer, spring, and winter 2006 seasons! But wow, Jikou Keisatsu came in at number two for winter 2006? I love Joe, but .

[jade_frosts]

I'm not surprised about HYD 2, but thought HNH would be a little higher than it is. I had to google Aibou and it sounds like the type of series I'd definitely be interested in watching. I'm not sure where I'd be able to find the earlier seasons, though.

Is Dr Koto Shinryosho really that good? I was unimpressed with the first episode of season 1.

I totally agree with the number ones for the summer, spring, and winter 2006 seasons! But wow, Jikou Keisatsu came in at number two for winter 2006? I love Joe, but .

Haken no Hinkaku's ranking might have to do with the spread of respondents in the Oricon survey, as well as strong contenders in HYD2 and Karei-naru Ichizoku. I can't say I was impressed with HYD2. It felt very juvenile to me, but maybe I'd have liked it if I were 10 years younger, and since I haven't watched a single episode of Karei-naru Ichizoku, I will have to refrain from commenting until later. A few people said it was a brilliant drama so I have high expectations. As for Dr Koto Shinryosho, I don't really think it's good. I haven't watched it but I saw the guy who acts as Dr Koto when he participated in a game show and the thought of the drama being carried by him was zzzzzzz. Maybe season II is better. If you want to watch the entire Aibou series, you'll probably have to buy it.

[Lady Zhuge]

Haken no Hinkaku's ranking might have to do with the spread of respondents in the Oricon survey, as well as strong contenders in HYD2 and Karei-naru Ichizoku. I can't say I was impressed with HYD2. It felt very juvenile to me, but maybe I'd have liked it if I were 10 years younger, and since I haven't watched a single episode of Karei-naru Ichizoku, I will have to refrain from commenting until later. A few people said it was a brilliant drama so I have high expectations. As for Dr Koto Shinryosho, I don't really think it's good. I haven't watched it but I saw the guy who acts as Dr Koto when he participated in a game show and the thought of the drama being carried by him was zzzzzzz. Maybe season II is better. If you want to watch the entire Aibou series, you'll probably have to buy it.

I have yet to watch HYD 2 or even the first season, but given its cast and target audience, a number 1 ranking isn't really surprising. I should watch those soon before I'm too far removed from my teeny bopper days. I guess a series anchored by Kimura Takuya coming in at number 2 shouldn't be a shock either. It garnered pretty high ratings too. I just wasn't expecting Aibou to sneak into the top 3, but then again, I shouldn't judge since I've never watched any of the seasons and was unaware of its popularity.

Lol, yeah, Yoshioka Hidetaka has this sleepy, pushover look about him, not exactly my idea of an appealing leading man either. However, he does fit in with the laid-back setting of the drama.

Would you happen to know of an online shop that sells Aibou with English/Chinese subs? Unfortunately it's not available at zoommovie.com.

[jade_frosts]

Would you happen to know of an online shop that sells Aibou with English/Chinese subs? Unfortunately it's not available at zoommovie.com.

I checked YesAsia.com and they don't carry it either. I don't know of any traders who have the drama but will keep a lookout. Funnily, according to Amazon JP it seems only the DVDs for season 1 & 2 were released and that 5 will be out soon. But I wonder what happened to 3 & 4. They're showing it on Kikutv in the States so hopefully someone will capture it and share on Daddicts. *cross fingers*

[Lady Zhuge]

I checked YesAsia.com and they don't carry it either. I don't know of any traders who have the drama but will keep a lookout. Funnily, according to Amazon JP it seems only the DVDs for season 1 & 2 were released and that 5 will be out soon. But I wonder what happened to 3 & 4. They're showing it on Kikutv in the States so hopefully someone will capture it and share on Daddicts. *cross fingers*

Darn, Kikutv is a station in Hawaii. Thanks anyway, jade.

[jade_frosts]

TELEVIEWS: Fruitless search for balanced entertainment
Wm. Penn, Yomiuri Shimbun

Too silly, too serious, too mangalike, too violent. It is often hard to find a Japanese series that passes the balanced entertainment test.

I had great hopes that the new Yuji Oda offering Jodan Janai(TBS network, Sundays, 9 p.m.) would ace the test this spring season.

It's a romantic comedy about a fashionable 40-ish guy, Keita Takamura (Oda), who marries a woman 20 years his junior only to discover her mother, Rie, is the older woman he dated in college. Still, his in-laws live on a vineyard in France. As Takamura is a research engineer in Tokyo, he figures he can keep the past a secret.

Back in Tokyo, there is no honeymoon waiting. His new neighbor turns out to be an old college pal who remembers Rie and she suddenly shows up and decides to move in with the newlyweds. Meanwhile, Takamura's company begins restructuring and he is tapped for a job in the sales department. in Kagoshima. His other option is early retirement.

And if all this is not enough, Nonomura (Naoko Iijima) is hovering in the background. Takamura casually lent her a hankie in a pub. Now she is smitten and thinks he is her "handkerchief prince."

Oda did not disappoint, but the casting of the two women in his life falls flat. The chemistry doesn't quite work. It is hard to imagine him in love with the immature Eren (Juri Ueno) or her mother (Shinobu Otake). With this cast, they might have done better to let Sanma Akashiya play the husband and let Oda use his considerable talents elsewhere.

But Oda is a pro, and in his hands Jodan Janai was still the most pleasant way to waste an hour this week.

Here's the rest of the week in review.

April 10: Ham with daikon anyone?

Hanayome to Papa (Fuji network, Mondays, 9 p.m.) is a silly little comedy in which everyone, including the usually very competent Saburo Tokito, over-emoted like a bunch of "daikon yakusha" (the Japanese equivalent of ham actors). Only Emi Wakui as Minako, the owner of the Raw Cafe, seemed in control of her role. Satomi Ishihara plays Aiko, excruciatingly burdened by her father's (Tokito) inability to realize she's all grown up. He controls her life as if she is in primary school--rules, curfew, homemade boxed meals. She decides to marry the first guy she meets, her new coworker Miura (Junnosuke Taguchi of KAT-TUN), to get a little freedom.

It's a flawed premise and a flawed effort with only one star--Wakui.

April 12: Watashitachi no Kyokasho (Our Textbook, Fuji network, Thursdays, 10 p.m.) was the exact opposite. Good acting, nice background music, serious plot--but it was so bleak and depressing most people will think of a better way to pass the hour, although it is probably not over at TBS, where Kodoku no Kake (Thursdays, 10 p.m.) has Hideaki Ito playing a sexy moneylender and Kyoko Hasegawa a designer offering herself as collateral for a loan.

Watashitachi no Kyokasho is yet another drama focusing on the nation's education problems. It is enough to make one jump up and shout: Forget all the TV series. Somebody start solving the problems!

But the premise of this series is just that; there is no one to solve the problems. The teaching staff are a befuddled lot felled by the system themselves, unable to do more than climb the mountain of paperwork and keep track of the chalk in their dingy classrooms. One teacher moonlights as a bar hostess, the others look disturbed and disillusioned.

Some of the students look even more sinister, including a girl with a split personality who writes horror manga and calls herself Poe.

The problem with such dramas is that they tend to play on all the familiar stereotypes and present things as even bleaker than they are, confirming people's hopelessness and killing off the belief in and enthusiasm for change.

The story starts with orphan Asuka (Mirai Shida) asking the new short-term substitute teacher (Atsushi Ito) whether it is possible to change a world so full of war, suffering, hunger and poverty. He is stumped for an answer and later told by other staffers to tell her "yes" even though they all cynically believe the answer is no.

Asuka's concern for the world comes from the fact she is being bullied herself although we don't find this out until after she ends up falling to her death from a classroom window. Is it an accident, suicide or murder?

Miho Kanno plays an intense, gloomy, chain-smoking young lawyer with secrets of her own who suspects foul play in Asuka's death and just may be able to teach them all that fighting for what's right can change things.

Three stars for the drama itself but beware: It is buried in a very dark and cloudy sky.

April 13: Fufudo (TBS network, Thursdays, 9 p.m.), starring Tetsuya Takeda, is a frothy, light comedy offering enough home truths to make it ring true in a strange sort of way. His is basically a loving family living in a rural town where everyone has known each other since kindergarten. The main attraction of this one is that Takeda plays a green tea grower. Those not familiar with the tea industry may learn a little. Palatable, but not a top-quality drink.