Bambino! / バンビーノ!

2007, 11-episode drama from Japan that is based on a Manga by the same name about a young, brash college student named Ban (Matsumoto Jun) who lives in Fukuoka Prefecture and works at an Italian restaurant.This means he thinks he's the greatest chef alive, so when his boss gives him a chance to spend spring break working at a high-class Italian restaurant in Tokyo, he jumps at the chance to show off his mad skills.Turns out he's...

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Smiling Pasta / 微笑 Pasta / Wei Xiao Pasta

2006 Taiwanese drama about an average girl (Cyndi Wang as Cheng Xiao Shi) running a losing streak in the love department ever since the guy of her dreams cursed her, stating she would never get anywhere past three months with any, particular guy.The guy of her dreams (Gino as Ah Zhe) doesn't, even like her, but despite her klutzy and totally immature ways, she is a determined girl who vows to always smile even in the face of certain adversity.On...

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Hero (the series)

2001 JDorama that stars Kimura Takuya as Kuryu Kohei, an off-beat defense attorney working for the city (prefecture). I watched the 'special' before I found this (the original, eleven episode series) at aznv.tv, so at first I was a little confused. Also, the DVD cover above has the number 5 after the title, and that confuses me as well, but it was the biggest picture I could find, so ... One thing I noticed in the disparity department...

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Kekkon Dekinai Otoko / 結婚できない男

He Who Can't Marry To be honest, I wish I had watched this version first and not the Korean re-make. Verbatim from start to finish, but because I really, REALLY enjoy watching Hiroshi Abe star in anything, the tedium was a bit, more bearable. Korean dramas tend to take a long time to tell a story by including every aspect of life (including watching people walk in silence, ride on a bus while pondering a dilemma, etc.) while Japanese...

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