IT is a major topic of conversation for schoolgirls, OLs (office ladies) and other young adults every day. At the weekend, crowds flock to shopping malls scouring for a new version to feed this 'addiction'.
'It' is what the Japanese call dorama, the television dramas that have been giving local ones a run for their money. While doramas have not yet become a staple of television broadcasts with the main television stations, these riveting tales starring Japanese idols, have been made available through an underground channel in the form of cheap video compact discs.
An example of how popular they have become are the weekly synopses of the Japanese shows which appear in television guides in local magazines. New review sections are being set up by radio stations, in newspapers and magazines. The art house Broadway Cinematheque cinema even organised a seminar on the appreciation of dorama recently.
Certainly the numbers that crowd the mall where these VCDs are available have swelled considerably. A quick stroll around the Tsuen Fung Centre in Tsuen Wan reveals at least seven such stores. In one, a wide range of boxed sets of Japanese soap operas are displayed, each carrying a brief review and cast details. A series of 10 episodes in 12 ordinary 'silver' discs costs between $100 and $120, and from $160 to $200 for the better quality 'gold' discs.
The latest hits are clearly evident: a made-for-TV version of the latest horror blockbuster The Ring, and a title loosely translated as 'Emergency Unit 24 Hours', said to be a replica of the American TV hit ER.
Widely available are the classic 'must-sees' including Long Vacation, Love Generation, Sleeping Forest, Precious Time, GTO, and Power Office Girls.