Why aren't Japenese dramas as good as they used to be?

Hmm, I can't say that I feel that same, but how good dramas are now vs. then is a subjective topic. I won't speak to the popularity of dramas --- I'm not sure if you mean in a general sense among Jdrama fans or are speaking of ratings, but I pay little to no mind to that stuff. Things change as time flows, and that includes programming. Dramas now are not the same as they were in the '90s, and dramas will again differ from the present years from now as well. I think that is, in part, what gives certain shows a special feeling (or not) for their respective time periods and the generations of people who may or may not connect with them.

I don't know if your list is an accurate reflection of the Jdramas you've seen, but I recommend searching through the top and most popular doramas here on MDL if you haven't already---or start poking through drama titles of screenwriters who have caught your attention. I noticed two of the dramas you mention were penned by Sakamoto Yuji whose 2017 Quartet was extremely popular and enjoyed by many. He also came out with anone this year, which is definitely worth taking a look at!

One liter of tears came from the "pure love era", the era that produce shows like "sekai no chusin, koizora, be with you, heavenly forest etc. That era is long gone now. As for mother and woman, those were directed by yuji sakamoto and if you haven't seen quartet it was also a great drama, same could also be said to anone. If you like a certain drama I suggest you check which director and scriptwriter involved in that drama and not just check which ones are famous cause each people have different taste. So in short I disagree with you as there are many underrated gems out there you just need to find them.

These are modern japanse dramas who I think are underrated. But again to each their own and hopefully you will like them. Title of drama is in description.

yo with anone, dele, sachiiro no one room, million yen women just from this year...idk but jdramas really steppin it up

Folks ı meant there are not many j-dramas that we could cult. Good and loved by many. Some J-Dramas i saw, i didn't add them on my watch list because i didn't complete and i decided to watch from the start such as 1 Litre of Tears, Maou, Hero etc. So i know many things about J-Dramas. I know K Dramas are so popular which i don't get it because they are all the same. Of course there are good ones. But J-Dramas lost their watchability not completely of course. But  at least it is less than Mother era. For example Mother, Woman, 1 Litre of Tears have remakes around the world. I am Turkish and they have in Turkey for example. But there are not many shows that has potential to have it. Of course i continue to watch them. I hope they will return to that golden era.

 tarkan-san:

I know K Dramas are so popular which i don't get it because they are all the same. Of course there are good ones. But J-Dramas lost their watchability not completely of course. But  at least it is less than Mother era. For example Mother, Woman, 1 Litre of Tears have remakes around the world.

I'm not sure I completely follow you but SK is a lot more generous about sharing their content with the rest of the world, whereas Japan sadly is not (unless it's manga or anime). That's why remakes of Jdramas, like BoF and Mother, are more easily accessible than the original doramas themselves via legal (and sometimes illegal) channels.

A lot of J-Drama are not focuses on romantic too much, a lot of drama you find them are almost non-romantic, investigation and weird stories. I remember that J-Drama used to be big back in 2000s for a long time until K-Drama starts overshadowing, there are also lots of demand of C-Drama, Turkish drama and other asian drama than J-Drama these days. I also used to watch a lot of spanish telenovea drama, which was very popular in Japan.

J-Drama with an non-romantic plot/acting is also strange, episodes are shorter, and they are increasing becoming low budget into these days, which is why people prefer high-budget dramas than J-Dramas.

I agree with others who felt sad to see that J-Drama are terrible looking, and that we're are getting less subbed. But this is prehaps, Japan's copyright laws try to take all of the J-Drama in illegal streaming websites down for good.

I also noticed on Crunchyroll there hasn't been new J-Drama in recent years as well, which is kinda shame.

(sorry for my poor English)

I dink dey used 2 be 9ood bud iz sdill really 9ood, bi99esd difference for me is probably i was youn9er and more impressionable back den, jdrama was also a nobeldy 2 me, so iz jus meand so much more.

nowadays i am old, haf wadched 1000s of jdramas so im nud surprised iz hard 2 find a 10

of course, jdramas sdill way superior 2 any oder drama, say american or korean sduff which are more mainsdream becuz of de populadion