Trendy Dramas
Most people associate today's Japanese dramas with the modern style of screenwriting which has coined the term "trendy dramas". The "trendy" formula for Japanese dramas was invented in the late 1980s when screenwriters decided to reach the television audience with themes that covered real-life Japan, at a time when the Japanese were experiencing a bubble economy. The "trendy" formula was improved in the early 1990s, when the story lines changed with the times. By gambling on harder issues, including teenage violence, child abuse, and modern family life, the trendy drama formula is tweaked to fit the television viewers' changing taste. Even today, the success of Japanese dramas is a result of sticking with the trendy drama formula.
Although some people consider Super Sentai and tokusatsu type shows as dramas, they are not covered when dramas are referred to using the "trendy" definition. Generally, most evening dramas aired nowadays are "trendy dramas", and the term doesn't apply to other types of dramas such as asadora. Some commentators have detected a kind of symbolism present.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Television Drama