Tired of anime? Got J-Drama?

[jp33]

I recently did what I thought I would never do...
I deleted all my anime folders on my PC...
I thought to myself, "Hmmm....I'm not gonna watch these anyway...", so CLICK, SHIFT+DELETE, ENTER...
I have to say, though, that I still love anime. However, my love for it is much different than what it used to be. Back in the good old days, when I was downloading anime non-stop, I loved anime for the stories, the beautiful and unique artwork, and the characters that just grew on you. But now, I just see it as beautiful and unique artwork. I can no longer enjoy an anime to the point where I can't take my eyes off the screen, not even to go to the bathroom or pick up the phone. I don't know what happened, but I do know that it was around the time I began to draw that my love for anime started to fade. So now, anime is artwork for me. I don't know about you, but I, personally, can't sit down and watch artwork.
After my hard drive was almost completely empty, I realized that I needed something to fill that space that would keep me entertained at home. Being interested in Japanese culture, I hesitantly turned to J-Dramas. I never really liked them before, but, then again, I never gave them a chance. So, after seeing a post in the New Releases forum, I downloaded all of the Great Teacher Onizuka - Live Action series. I have absolutely no regrets. I enjoyed GTO - Live Action more than any anime that I've ever seen in my whole life. Naturally, I wanted more Dramas. This craving reminded me of when I wanted to see 'this or that' next episode of 'this or that' anime so badly. I turned to many BT sites and some IRC channels and was not disappointed. Yup, J-Dramas are definately for me. So far, in my almost-two-week span of J-Drama collecting and watching, I have seen GTO and Summer Snow. Both are very good and I highly recommend them (Both have been fansubbed by #japan-tv on Aniverse).
Is there anyone else who shares my new found interest? I'm still new to the J-Drama world and I would love to hear some recommendations. :D

(Wow. If you read this all, good for you!)

[extent]

The GTO drama series was awesome! I also have wanted to start collecting drama series in addition to my anime (which I haven't grown tired of quite yet) but I dont know what other series to check out. Eventually I'll get unlazy and check around the BT sites for them.

I'ld love to find Beach Boys, it's got the same lead as the GTO one.

[jp33]

Yeah, he's the coolest. :D
Check out www.jdorama.com. It looks like they have every J-Drama in their database. #japan-tv's BT site has lots of links to other J-Drama BT sites, so getting them shouldn't be a problem (except for lack of seeds...). I've made up my list of Dramas to watch and I have sources. Hopefully, one day, I'll have seen all of the Dramas on my list. :D

- Seikei Bijin (Artificial Beauty)
- Shota no Sushi (King of Sushi) - Looks hilarious!
- To Heart - There was an anime too, right?
- Hero
- Yamato Nadeshiko - Fuyutsuki-sensei is in this! (The very sexy teacher in GTO)
- Narita Rikon
- Beautiful Life - I hear it's amazing.
- Be Nice to People
- Le Bel Homme
- Shomuni
- Long Vacation
- Love Generation

...and whatever else people recommend. :D

[Freakzilla]

I don't know, I've never gotten "tired" of anime, but then again, I don't think I've ever obsessed about it like you seemed to describe how you seemed to watch anime at some point.

I also generally only watch a handful of series. I can certainly see how someone could burn out on it though if they watched it in the way you described.

I'm not sure what it means to see it only as artwork that you can't really sit down and enjoy it any more. I've always seen it as art, and that is part of what I enjoy about it. I'm not sure why J-Dramas are any less art.... is it just because it is live action instead of animation?

Either way, definitely take a break from it, but I would still recommend at least trying to continue enjoy it (although it is a real effort for you, then I guess you wouldn't want to). I just think that the idea that when you see something as art, you can't enjoy it any more, even if it's because you've gotten more into creating your own work (you mentioned this coinciding with drawing more)...... I'm not sure about it, is all.

I mean, many artists enjoy the art of others, many writers love reading other people's writing, etc...... many continue to find inspiration in seeing the artistic visions of others.

I just wouldn't close the door on it entirely. I defintely think it's healthy to move on from obsessively downloading all the anime you can and watching it just because it's anime..... that's completely natural.

But still, I think it's possible to enjoy individual stories..... not because they are Japanese animation, but because they are good stories. Whether it's a j-drama or anime or anything else.... i think a good story is a good story. I mean, you could just as easily get burnt out I guess on j-drama if you were constantly watching everything there is to it.

You might just want to temper it though..... I mean, I guess you might have to ask yourself what it was exactly about anime that you did like (if just seeing a bit of j-drama made you like one of them more than any anime you had ever seen).... perhaps you were one of the people who were fans of anime more because it was something new and different.... and now that that newness had faded, you just don't like the stories of what you've seen, or you do look at anime as something more than just a broad term for Japanese animation.... and now you find that newness and freshness in j-drama.

But J-Drama is just as much art..... I only suggest thinking about this a bit, because otherwise you might burn out the same way on j-drama.

I would just say that the medium shouldn't matter that much..... don't feel like you have to give up something entirely, or at least think about what it is about j-drama that you are finding that you can't enjoy in anime any more.

The biggest question is certainly what has happened that you can't sit down and even watch anime even more because you see it as artwork (apparently artwork that you like, but not enough to be able to actually sit down and watch it), but that you can still be enraptured by j-drama.

The curious question in particular would be what you see as different between the two.... what different qualities in the storytelling, the acting, the cinematography, etc...... what is it about j-drama that even just seeing GTO live action was something that you found better and more enjoyable than any anime you had ever seen?

I do know some people though who are more into something because of its genre..... I can't help but thinking that you've "abandoned" anime because it is anime, but now might be enraptured by j-drama BECAUSE it is j-drama.... rather than just focusing on the stories themselves, not the fact that they are j-drama or anime. Maybe, maybe not.... and you might not be able to recognize it either way.... but just something to think about.

Enjoy the J-Drama in the meantime though. And if you're interested in Japanese culture, you might look into more Japanese writers, artists and poets and such.... some very good stuff out there. There's certainly a lot more out there, and some truly incredible writers and poets and artists outside of just television and film in Japan.

I think it is healthy to move past liking something just because it is anime, or anything else. I just want to help you make sure you don't just replace one for the other.... I can't help thinking that because you seem to be asking people to specifically recommend j-dramas to you, but the fact that they are j-dramas shouldn't matter as much as the quality of the stories...... just try and focus on that, the stories, the aspects of these shows you do like.... and find them wherever you can. I just would hope you won't close the door on anything (any more than, say, I wouldn't want to just give up all books because I got burnt out on reading a ton of books..... since the fact that they are books is incidental).

-Freakzilla

[jp33]

Yeah, you're right, zilla. Geez, right down to a T :p . I never really thought of cutting anime off completely. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from anime and not only will I never forget that, but I also hope that that inspiration will continue. After all, it was anime that sparked my love for drawing.
Yes, I see anime as artwork in the sense that it is animation. I don't see anime and J-Dramas similarly because of that. So, basically, I meant artwork as in animated art. As for the stories, I agree that many animes have incredible stories, but I guess I can't take "cartoons" (sorry...) seriously anymore. I hate myself for saying that, but despite my deep-down, never-ending love for anime, that's just how I feel. I agree that I did burn out my interest in anime. I've only seen a few series (compared to most anime fans), but I did download like there was no tomorrow. That newness and freshness definately faded; no doubt about that.
But, you're right: if I could paint a Picasso-calibur painting, I wouldn't enjoy paintings less because of that. I can still say that i like anime, but it's just not the same "like" as before.
Hmmm...what is it about Dramas that I don't see in anime anymore? Off the top of my head, I would say that it's definately the people, or rather, the actors. It's the realism, expressions, and the ease of relating to them that I like the most. "They're people, just like me." That's what flows through my mind as I'm watching a Drama. It's a nice feeling, I must say.
Long live anime! No doubt about that. I'm still going to conventions, I'm still going to draw it, and I'm still going to love it. Who knows, if and/or when my interest for Dramas fades (doesn't everything...), I might even turn to anime again! But I'm not holding my breath for that.... :p

[Freakzilla]

That's a shame to not be able to take animation (cartoons) seriously any more, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I still think animation and comic art in general is one of the most incredible art forms out there, but yeah, if you've found yourself at a point that you can't take it seriously, that definitely makes sense to just give it up completely, no matter what it is...... it still seems like a shame to treat it like that because it's animation, but that's that.

Anyway, enjoy your new endeavors...:)

-Freakzilla

i watch j doramas..
summer snow is cool

Does live action hentai count as a J-drama?

jp...thats exactly what started happening to me....
*referring to your original post*

i started drawing hardcore again...and started not caring about keeping up with anime anymore

[Katchura]

Heh well I have always watched anime, but its only when I got dsl that I really went nuts, so like everyone else I have a backlog of unwatched anime. Now im just following 3 maybe 4 series. Am just doing other things and watching a lot of asian movies.
I get a lot of mine from www.fantasticsuperclub.com when I dont buy them.