I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to watch more Japanese dramas. Why? So I can practice my Japanese. I’m studying the language, but not really practicing. I usually have some Japanese music going on in the background, but that is the extent of my immersion in the language. I need to hear more Japanese to improve my own Japanese.
Except there’s a tiny problem. I can never find any Japanese dramas I like. I can find addictive Korean dramas easily enough, but I’m not studying Korean! This is my dilemma. I don’t know if I’m just predisposed to enjoy kdramas over jdramas, or if it is just easier to find fun kdramas since they are all subbed. I mean, with viki.com and dramafever.com, if you don’t like a kdrama after 5 minutes you can just watch another one. It seems only the most popular of jdramas get subbed… But, I’m learning Japanese! So I don’t need subs!! (That’s a lie, I need subs, but I’m going to try without I am forced to.)
So here’s the experiment: For each drama season, I’ll pick out all the Japanese dramas I’m interested in. I’ll watch the first episode, with or without subs. If I like, I’ll keep watching. If not, I will move on and not cry about the fact that I can’t find any enjoyable Japanese dramas. With this method, I’m bound to find great dramas and improve my Japanese!
I’ll catalog my findings here, but be warned: my Japanese is very very poor. I’m just a beginner. This little experiment is for me to work on my Japanese and find some good TV to watch. Don’t expect comprehensive summaries or meta or anything besides my opinions.