Thank you! I kinda went on a old J-drama kick, actually. Almost can pick out a few Japanese words now...
Tried to watch the drama about Internet relationship, With Love (1998). Very very different from today's web environment, (by astronomical magnitude). I really marveled at how fast (and the good and the bad aspects of) the www has developed after looking at this show! But the show is too slow for my taste. Most of the J-drama is.
Beach Boys was a little faster. Interestingly, along with Long Vacation, it showed me a very different type of Japanese young people as the stereotype we get in the West. Not working hard all the time, the main characters are actually slackers and want to just enjoy life. I wonder if it's a reflection of decade-long economic stagnation. I also wonder if actually there are a decent percentage of more relaxed attitude in the generation. Or in fact many are still working too hard, they just wish for a more relaxing life, hence the shows popularity.
I found the story Introduction of IceWorld very interesting, but have not been able to get to see it yet.
