MyDramaList talks to Netflix Kdrama Actor Andrew Bishop, who worked alongside late Lee Sun Kyun
Currently waiting for your favorite currently airing Jdrama to get subbed or waiting for the next episode to air? Here are 10 of the highest rated Jdramas from 2013 that you can watch in the meantime.
#1: Hanzawa Naoki
Genre: Business, Drama MDL Score:8.9
Plot: Naoki Hanzawa works as a loan manager at the Osaka Nishi branch of Tokyo Central Bank. One day, Naoki makes a loan contract for 500 million yen with Nishi Osaka Steel Company. Naoki didn't want to approve the loan, but he had to due to the branch manager's order. Nishi Osaka Steel Company seems financially stable, but the company actually hides massive amounts of debt through fraudulent accounts. The company is caught. Three months later, Nishi Osaka Steel Company goes bankrupt.
The bank's branch manager is Asano. He is an ambitious man and tries to shift the blame to Naoki. Naoki then attends an inquiry about the loan failure at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo. Naoki denies fault and promises to retrieve the 500 million yen loan.
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#2: Kazoku Game
Genre: Family, Life, Psychological, School MDL Score :8.8
Plot: The story revolves around an eccentric home tutor named Yoshimoto, who is hired to teach the second son of the Numata family. While being tossed around by the weird and unconventional home tutor, the remedial student and his family gradually start changing. Though the previous movie/dramas featured a fiercely competitive high school entrance examinations as its main theme, the 2013 version will also feature some modern problems like bullying and school refusal.
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#3: Tonbi
Genre: Drama, Family MDL Score: 8.8
Plot: Ichikawa Yasuo, who goes by the nickname Yasu, is a ‘dumb’ man unequalled anywhere in the world. He has not had schooling, is boorish and would immediately let his fists fly if he loses his cool. But Yasu is different from the ordinary fool in that he is a “doting parent”. He grew up without parents and does not knows what it is like to be close, but he and his wifelove each other and live happily as they watch their son Akira grow up. However, when Akira is 3 years old, they are suddenly struck by tragedy. Yasu loses his wife in a freak accident. Although overcome with guilt and sorrow, Yasu puts it behind him and tries to raise his beloved son with the help of his friends
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#4: Amachan
Genre: Life MDL Score: 8.7
Plot: High school student Aki tries to become a female diver in her mother's rural hometown, located in Iwate Prefecture. Aki is influenced by her grandmother Natsu.
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#5: Legal High 2
Genre: Comedy, Law MDL Score: 8.4
Plot: Haruki Hanyu, who worked as a prosecutor, changes sides and becomes an attorney. He opens his law office "NEXUS". In court, pursues solutions where the plaintiff and defendant can come to a mutual understanding. This differs completely from Kensuke Komikado, who believes only the winner is right. At work, Haruki Hanyu has confrontation a with Machiko Mayuzumi, but still holds personal feelings for....
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#6: Yae no Sakura
Genre: Historical MDL Score: 8.4
Plot: “Yae no Sakura” will tell the story of Niijima Yae, also known as Yamamoto Yaeko, who was born into the Aizu Domain during the late Edo period. Skilled in gunnery, she helped defend Aizu during the Boshin War, earning her the nickname of the “Bakumatsu Joan of Arc.” After the war, she married educator Joseph Hardy Neesima (Niijima Jo) and became a Christian, and she helped Neesima found Doshisha University.
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#7: Yakou Kanransha
Genre: Suspense MDL Score: 8.4
Plot: The drama is based on the best selling same-titled novel Minato Kanae, and is about two families that reside in the same upscale neighborhood. Amongst all the beautiful homes lined up in a row, there is a small house that belongs to the Endo family. Even though it is small, but it is a dream come true for Endo Mayumi. Living directly opposite them, is the elite Takahashi family. With their three gifted and smart children and a doctor husband, the Takahashis seem like a blessed and happy family.
One day, Takahashi Hiroyuki is found murdered. The police suspect the murderer is someone the family knows...
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#8: Woman
Genre: Drama, Family MDL Score: 8.4
Plot: Koharu lost her husband Shin in an unexpected accident. Koharu must go on for her two children Nozomi and Riku. Koharu works hard to make a living, but her financial situation does not improve. She goes to the social welfare office to apply for assistance, but is refused due to not meeting certain requirements. An employee at the welfare office asks Koharu if she has family that can support her, but she says no. Koharu's father passed away and her mother Sachi left her and her father for another man twenty years ago. They have been estranged since then. An employee at the welfare office then contacts Sachi. Her mother makes it known she will provide support for Koharu. Meanwhile, Koharu is stunned by her mother's response. After twenty years, Koharu decides to meet her mother again.
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Genre: Comedy, Life MDL Score: 8.3
Plot: Set within the fictional city of Mahoro, Keisuke Tada and Haruhiko Gyoten are two thirty something divorced men who run a “benriya” (odd jobs for hire) business. The drama series depicts their interactions with clients in their agency, which is located across the street from a station.
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#10: Doctor-X 2
Genre: Medical, Drama MDL Score: 8.3
Plot: The story continues with Michiko still working as a freelance doctor at the Teito University Hospital. Enjoying herself at a horse-race in Hokkaido from an invite by Dr Kanbara Akira, Michiko happens to chance upon a scene at the owners' box. The elegant woman draped in a fur coat, sipping champagne with her handsome younger lover. Her attention is soon diverted to the race, as she cheers on the horse that she had bet on. Suddenly, the said horse veered into the path of another horse, causing a nasty fall. Michiko then overhears the elegant woman, who happens to be the injured horse's owner, lamenting "A hundred million yen horse, euthanised just like that". To which the vet replies, "Even a surgery will result in 100% failure". Michiko then chimes in, "If it was me, I would succeed"...
A few weeks later, in the conference at the Teito University Hospital, the Internal Medicine Executive Manager announces that there will be a patient checking into the hospital for treatment on osteosarcoma of the thighbone. The Chief surgeon, Hiruma, and all his staff concur that the best treatment would be to amputate the leg, when a voice pipes up, "I disagree!", that heralds the appearance of Michiko!
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To see 11+, click here. So how many of these dramas have you seen? Which one is your favorite? Which one do you plan on watching next?
