I started watching doramas (japanese TV dramas) I stumbled into this masterpiece: Nobuta wo Produce (torrent)

P.S.: There’s a slightly (mostly unseeded) better version H264 with translations that are maybe better. torrent
P.P.S.: Yes, definitely better translation.

One thing I noticed is that episodes of japanese dramas that last 1/1.5 hours are divided into two or three parts, and every part has its own narrative thread and conclusion. So if someone starts watching halfway through he still can follow what goes on (this works on TV). Then all the threads in the whole episode are interconnected together to reward those who followed for beginning to end. It’s a rather clever design :)

I watched the first episode of this drama, then watched it again a month later. It’s awesome. Just a typical school drama like every other anime you may have seen (here live), with one new girl in the school getting bullied, and the smart, beautiful and charismatic guy coming to rescue her. But in spite of a trite plot and humor that just won’t work for a western audience (pathetic), this is absolutely fantastic. It has a great direction, great soundtrack and it’s actually filled with good, natural acting. There’s still a lot of the typical acting excess style of japanese shows, but at the end the characters grow on you and feel authentic. The story is a pleasure to follow and they are able to tell with it something that isn’t so shallow as the concept would suggest. The typical idol protagonist just works here, especially when he’s together with his crazy friend.

I’m actually quite impressed by this show. It shows emotion in a good, uncompromised way and it’s amazingly produced. Great cast all around too.

The first episode is slightly more than an hour long and self contained enough to be enjoyed on its own. Whole series is 10 episodes.