Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Pop Culture and Entertainment: Buzzer Beat


10/6/09  4:27 PM

Even before arriving in Japan, I kept up with the drama programs in Japan that air each season. One that was particularly popular this summer/fall was Buzzer Beat. I started watching it before arriving to Japan, and didn't expect it to be very known... but every time I talked to a Japanese person and told them I watch dramas, the first thing they said was "Buzzer Beat?" Even after moving into my homestay family I would watch it with my High School sisters. During my Silver Week trip to Tokyo, Fuji TV had a promotion poster of it on the escalator ride up, and section of merchandise as well.

What is Buzzer Beat? In a nutshell it is a romance drama revolving around a basketball team called the JC Arcs, starring Yamashita Tomohisa, a famous idol from Johnny's Entertainment. Johnny's Entertainment is a popular idol company that created some of the most famous boy bands in Japan, such as SMAP, and Arashi. 
 

From my own experience, dramas that have idols from Johnny's Entertainment tend to have good viewership in the beggining, and based on the quality of the show itself the ratings change accordingly. Overall, the ratings  in comparison to other shows during the summer season have been very good. The final episode had a rating of 13.8% and Yahoo Rankings shows it as the #5 most watched show that week. From  my own experience, when a show has an average close to 15% it is usually a pretty popular show.  


So from all that I have gathered from both online research, and from observing and conversing with people about the show itself... Buzzer Beat seems like it was one of the more popular dramas of the summer season. Now I have my eyes set for the next season, and I'm curious as to which ones will become popular!





Links from the post:
For information on Johnny's Entertainment , or Yamashita Tomohisa in english, check out Wikipedia or Google.
More TV rating sites:
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3 comments:

  1. yukiOctober 11, 2009 at 1:12 PM

    I also watched Buzer Beat! It was my favourite drama and watched all episodes. As you said, Buzer Beat was popular drama. I asked some of my friends if they watced Buzer Beat, most of them answered they watced it every week. I thought your observation about rating of viewership is interesting! I think it's true that the show is popular when the show has an avarage 15%. But before, popular drama had about 25% or more.

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  2. visual gonthrosOctober 11, 2009 at 8:32 PM

    TV dramas in Japan in general, and your specific focus on Buzzer beat in particular, is a great topic for this week's theme of pop culture in Japan. You provide interesting commentary and lots of helpful links.

    Yuki left an important - popular dramas used to get much higher ratings. Some people say they are tired of dramas starring idols from Johnny's and Yoshimoto. Some say the quality of writing isn't as good as it used to be. And then there is the popularity of Korean dramas - they seem to have something a la imagined nostalgia that current Japanese dramas have lost.

    Your photos help illustrate your text here. Good job.

    Can you make your font size a bit larger to make your blog easier to read?

    ReplyDelete
  3. katsupOctober 15, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    I didn't realize that the drama ratings have changed that much! I know that Winter Sonata (Fuyu no Sonata) was a very popular show in Japan but I didn't think it would contribute to lower ratings.

    Thanks for the comments! I have made the font size larger, I hope that it helps!

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