[General Discussion] Anime and Manga Recommendations

If you liked My Boss My Hero, and specifically Tomoya Nagase's (Makio) performance, you should consider watching Tiger & Dragon.

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The tale of Tiger & Dragon revolves around Rakugo, a traditional form of Japanese comedy that can look back on an impressive 400 year long history. Nagase portrays the Yakuza follower Toraji who goes to a Rakugo performer to collect debts, while Okada plays Ryuji a talented Rakugo player who wants to leave behind the old fashioned world of Rakugo for good. Shortly afterwards these two very different characters happen to cross paths through a girl named Megumi and that's when all the real trouble starts igniting...

It's very funny and very touching, and it's an excellent way to be introduced to Rakugo. This series pretty much swept the 45th television drama academy awards.

Another drama I watched recently that I really enjoyed is Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, or The Man Who Can't Get Married.

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Shinsuke Kuwano, a successful architect at 40, enjoys living by himself. He doesn’t like people but somehow is able to design wonderful houses for them.

He has a routine of making himself a delicious dinner and then relaxing to classical music in his easy chair while pretending he is the conductor. One night, he plays the music loud enough to make his next door neighbor, Michiru Tamara knock on his door to complain. When Kuwano answers the door, he suffers a terrible stomach pain and collapses to the floor. Lucky for him, Michiru is nice enough to accompany him to the hospital, where he is treated by Dr. Natsumi Hayasake. He is really rude to Natsumi, but she is still determined to treat him.

Afterwards, Michiru and Natsumi become part of Kuwano’s life. They make friends with Kuwano’s colleagues Eiji and Maya Sawazaki. They all enjoy talking about how strange and eccentric Kuwano is. Is it possible that someone would ever want to marry him?

Like any good dramas, this one has plenty of moments that will make you want to laugh and cry. As a bonus, this series won a whole slew of awards at the 50th television drama academy awards, including best series, best actor, and best supporting actress.

After watching this series, I got rather interested in Hiroshi Abe (who plays Kuwano in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko) which led me to Hero:

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Kohei Kuryu is a former juvenile delinquent who drops out of junior high and goes on to earn a high school equivalency diploma. After passing the law board exams, Kuryu becomes a prosecutor. Not your typical prosecutor, which is quickly seen through the clothes that he wears, Kuryu possesses quick instincts and a kind of cleverness that only someone raised on the streets could have.

Maiko Amamiya is a shrewd public prosecutor who has her eyes set on passing the exam to become a deputy prosecutor and tries her best to be noticed by her boss. Kuryu, on the other hand, after earning a reputation for doing top-notch work, is transferred to Amamiya's division, and finally opens his eyes to the possibility of promotion. Unfortunately, his unprecedented work behavior abruptly brings things to a halt.

Although earning a reputation as a bad apple, the influence from Kuryu's strong pursuit of justice slowly begins to change things around him. This drama is filled with it all; love, laughs and lots of emotion. -- Fuji TV

It takes a little while to get warmed up to the cast and feel of the show as there are quite a lot of actors, but once it gets going it's a truly interesting series. There's plenty of WHODUNIT detective work, some budding romance, and lots of laughs. Incidentally, this is the single most popular drama that ever aired in Japan, with a viewership rating of 34.03.

So, I guess I don't actually know that you will like these series. I watched most of those series you listed and enjoyed them, though, so I figure if we have similar tastes you might enjoy what I enjoyed as well.

Jam it back in, in the dark.