If you want to get away from textbooks and apps and watch some TV dramas to brush up on your Japanese, you might find these three series entertaining and useful. They are presented here according to their level of difficulty, from Pension Metsä, a slow-paced drama with a limited number of protagonists, to And Life Goes On, a more complex story spanning a period of 10 years to He Who Can't Marry, an uplifting comedy that you'll want to see until the end. I’ll also go briefly over how you can use them to improve your Japanese language skills.

Pension Metsä
ペンションメッツァ

2021, 1 season, 7 episodes x 25 min.

We follow Tenko, a middle-aged woman, as she goes about her daily life. She lives in the woods of Central Japan where she runs a guest house with only one room to rent. In each episode she meets one person, be it a guest, a passerby, or a relative, and she talks with them about a broad range of topics. She also reminisces, reflects upon her present life, and wonders about the future.

In each episode, there are basically only two characters, Tenko and her visitor, and the conversation is easy to follow. The level of formality between them varies, in one story, she talks with her niece, and in another one with a visitor she meets for the first time. As you probably know, in Japanese, one of the biggest challenges is using the proper language based on the level of formality required in each situation. This drama gives us the perfect opportunity to study the language used in a variety of settings and is suitable even for learners at upper-beginner level.

Available on Netflix Japan, Amazon Prime Video

And life goes on
そして、生きる

2019, 1 season, 6 episodes x 50 min.

The story follows two main characters during the time before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It is a coming-of-age drama that deals with friendship, love, and death, watching the protagonists grow, transform and mature in the 10 years that pass.

A variety of situations that the characters encounter is mirrored in the language used. At some instances, there is even an additional challenge because we get to hear different dialects (such as the one from Tohoku). However, this is exactly the added value of this drama - we can also learn some local expressions and experience a different pronunciation which is all a part of learning a language. The pace of the drama is not too fast and a lot can be understood from the context and the visuals which makes it perfect for a learner at intermediate level.

Available on Netflix Japan, Hulu Japan

He who can't marry
結婚できない男

2006 and 2019, 2 seasons, 24 episodes x 45 min.

The lead character, Kuwano is a 40-year-old architect who enjoys his life and has no plans for tying the knot. However, life presents him with a series of experiences that might make him reconsider his choices (or not?). The humorous twists and endearing characters make it an easy watch, even though some dialogues might not be so easy to understand - Kuwano (Abe Hiroshi) tends to speak fast and occasionally mumbles, so turning on the subtitles might be a good idea.

This series has two seasons, filmed some 13 years apart. Linguistically speaking, this is not the easiest drama to follow, but since the plot is interesting and well-paced it entices the spectator to follow along. Also, truth be told, the second season follows the same plot as the first one, so knowing the plot will make it easier for you to focus mostly on the language used. As in Pension Metsa, pay attention to the language used in different situations: Kuwano talking to himself, his employees, clients, or friends at different levels of formality. The conversations can be a bit fast which makes them suitable for the learners at higher intermediate and lower advanced levels.

Available on Netflix Japan, Amazon Prime Video

How to study

Step 1: Getting the Gist

Before you start actively learning, just lay back and enjoy the show. Try to follow the plot and dialogue as much as you can without worrying that you can’t understand everything. Pause and check for new words only when you can’t figure out what is going on, despite using a lot of imagination.

Step 2: Choosing a dialogue

Choose a dialogue (or a monologue!) to work with. It should be something that especially piques your curiosity, a phrase that you’ve often heard but don’t know the meaning of, or simply something that you might find helpful in the future. Also, it shouldn’t be too long — 8–10 sentences will do.

Step 3: Writing down new words

Check for new words or grammatical patterns. Spend some time with the example sentences you’ll find in your dictionary. If you chose a verb see how it’s conjugated. In case you’re also studying kanji try to memorize them by practicing their writing. You might consider introducing new terms to your flashcard decks for further study and consolidation through spaced repetition.

Step 4: Dictation

Listen to the dialogue and try to write down what you hear, either by hand or using your digital device. The later one will be easier because you will automatically get a list of possible kanji and it will be sufficient if you can recognize the right one even though you might not be able to handwrite it by yourself. Pay special attention to the level of formality and the inflections at the end of sentences.

Step 5: Shadowing

Listen to the dialogue, sentence by sentence, and try to repeat what you hear paying special attention to the intonation and rhythm. You can use what you wrote in Step 4 as a script. If the actors speak too fast you can reduce the speed of your player.

***

Hopefully you will enjoy watching these series and find them useful for your Japanese study.