Moriyama sensei and other memorable jdorama characters.

Moriyama is the Vegeta of Doctors; he is so good at being a bad guy and is so entertaining that I want to cheer for him. However, he cannot turn good because that would destroy what makes him fun to watch in the first place. Takashima Masanobu has been in so many jdoramas but I have never remembered his name and I will forget his name after this sentence. He is usually playing supporting 2D supporting characters that are not memorable with probably his best showing in Rinjo 2. So basically, I could never tell whether he was a good actor and I can say that his portrayal of Moriyama sensei was memorable and I'll probably always know Takashima Masanobu as Moriyama-sensei. Did anyone get the urge to play the Iryu soundtrack during the operation in ep 8 of Doctors?

There are two reasons characters become memorable; firstly they are so larger than life or so good that they carry a jdorama and secondly its a supporting actor finally playing a memorable character. You know a character is memorable/good when you know the character's name and not the actors. Sometimes its because the character's name is the name of the dorama but it would still have to be pretty good to be remembered. So let's have a look what what I think are career defining characters in jdorama!


SUZUKI SENSEI

If he continues to show great acting, I'm sure I'll end up remembering his name. Hopefully he doesn't do anymore bad overacting shows like Mita.

DENSHA & HERMES

I hate Densha and Hermes in everything else they have done cause they can't bloody act. Densha was the perfect vehicle for their no acting skills. Whoever decided to cast Hermes as Otonashi Kyoko in the Maison Ikokku dorama should be shot. No, I have not seen it but I'm certain she does not have the acting chops to pull it off.

ONIZUKA SENSEI

I think most people probably refer to him as GTO. The most charismatic jdorama character ever and a character so iconic I feel he's always under the character's shadow.

HACHI ONE

He is in a lot of shows and his roles are never memorable except in Hachi One which was the first time he was the man and even then, it was memorable because of the supporting cast. Still a name that no one can forget and I can't be stuffed looking up his real name.

AN CHAN

His character in Hitotsu Yane no Shita was always called an-chan so I have no idea what the full name of the character is. An-chan is memorable in that he is the centre and soul of this heart warming 90s series.

ASADA RYUTARO

Can't remember the actor's name but Asada Ryutaro is IMHO, the coolest Japanese name ever next to Kiryuu Kazuma. If the parents of Japan had any sense, they would name their boys Ryutaro and play them the Iryu soundtrack before exams. Why hasn't Capcom or SNK made a fighting game character called Asada Ryutaro? He'll be an S tier character based on his name alone.

MAYA SENSEI

Ok I confess I had to look up the character's name but when I think Amami Yuki I think of the teacher in black.

KINPACHI SENSEI

A lot of people probably remember him from 101 proposals but I don't think many can remember the characters name.

KANZAKI NAO

Not a great acting effort but its one of those names I never struggle to remember.

KITA YOSHIO

He has been in every single dorama, don't remember his name but this was the one time he was not a supporting character and he did a memorable job.

ZAIZEN SENSEI

One of the best anti-hero protagonists ever in the best jdorama about hospital politics.

YAJIMA KINTARO

The GTO of salarymen. Its either Kintaro or Tadano Hitoshi.

UEDA JIRO

Too many memorable characters from Abe Hiroshi. Its either Jiro or Kuwano san from KDO for me.

YAMADA NAOKO

A think a lot of people would refer to her as Yamkumi from Gokusen but Yamada Naoka is her one character that I enjoyed watching.

SAITO-SAN

MANO-SAN 

These two come in a pair and they really complemented each other in Saito-san and turned what seemed like your typical suburban housewife dorama into a great character dorama.

YABE KENZO

Another supporting actor who got to be the lead in this Trick spin-off and I'm pretty sure most people don't know his name. Great for laughs and lots of toupee jokes. I think he should be the supporting character in all non-Wowow/NHK cop shows to make them bearable .