entertainment

5 Japanese movies and dramas to watch over the holidays

5 Comments
By Jessica Esa

No travel plans for Christmas? No worries! Here’s your unmissable list of Japanese films and dramas to keep you going over the festive and New Year period! This list has something for everyone from binge-worthy uplifting dramas to emotionally-charged films.

1. Tokyo Girl

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When we arrive at year’s end, social media sites like Facebook urge us to look back on the year we’ve just lived, and the creeping-in of New Year’s Eve gets us pondering on the next stage in our lives. This transition from year to year, life to life, is presented perfectly here in Tokyo Girl.

On the surface, Tokyo Girl looks like another typical Japanese drama. The story trails a young girl – played by Asami Mizukawa – from a small town who feels there are no opportunities for her in her local area, and that she’d have been much better placed in Paris, NYC or Tokyo. Somewhere far from her provincial life.

When she heads to her first stop, Harajuku, however, she finds out that her good looks, praised in her hometown, aren’t so special in Tokyo. The series follows her life from age 23-40 as she maneuvers her career and love life, and moves from district to district in Tokyo, each move providing a clever commentary on Tokyo’s social ladder and the changes we face as we journey through life.

Watch on: Amazon Prime

Language: Japanese with English subtitles 

Click here to read more.

© Savvy Tokyo

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

5 Comments
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I hate these external linked articles but I will at least share mine:

Midnight Diner on Netflix. Love it! Simple but such a great tv show/movie.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Thanks for the suggestion, papiguilio. I'm not impressed enough with the article's first suggestion to bother clicking through for their other four.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It seems like half or more of these 5 are set in Tokyo/Tokyo Station. Although I'm always looking for good J movies to watch none of these sound all that intriguing to me.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There are other just as great areas around Japan that exist; not just Tokyo or the Tokyo area.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Godfathers is alright. The art has a gritty, Showa style, and the story is enjoyable for adults as well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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