Anyone who watches even a handful of J-dramas knows that they're essentially built on the structure of deep-rooted tropes and cliches, and every time I see one, I want to point out and yell "LOOK! There's another one!"
Here are my observations of some of the more common offenders:
"Parent Day"
Any show with a child MUST have a "Parents Day" episode,which will 
consist of one of two problems:
A) The child doesn't show the announcement letter to anyone because he has no Mother/Father, etc...
B)The parent is busy and can't show up. But at the last minute, the parent will show up and the kid will beam with happiness....
"Brat For A Day"
Speaking of kids, there's the trope of the unprepared person suddenly saddled with taking care of a young child. Taking care of a young kid is probably tough enough, but the cliche is that the kid must ALWAYS be a 100% full-blown BRAT...until the 'special" part of the show where you learn his problems (The Mom is too Busy with Work! His Dad Left! The Kids Ignore him! Etc, etc) and suddenly becomes an angel for the rest of the show, ending with the main character "really gonna miss the kid" when he/she is gone..."
"Perfect Parent/Child Relationship Revealed to be False"
More and More I’ve been seeing dramas where they feature a single parent raising a child, and though they love each other very much, throughout the show, close friends will continually ask the parent “When are you going to tell her/him?”.
At some point (usually by the time the child is about to be married or the equivalent) it is revealed and the parent tells the story of how they came to marry their spouse who was already was with a child but single, and they took it upon themselves to become that child’s Father/ Mother.
This is a cliche that’s been happening with alarming frequency lately, yet every time it happens, I can’t complain about it because even mentioning that it appears in the drama would be a major spoiler!
"The Sympathetic Drink Offering"
Feeling down? Or feel like the world's problems are on your shoulders? Fear not, for if you are in a Japanese drama, someone will shortly hand you a drink from the corner of the screen and listen to your woes...and give you some sage advice as well!
"Slamming Down a Glass of Beer in Disgust"
An almost comically overused cliche of the downtrodden employee who, after going to an izakaya with co-workers after a hard day, will take a swig of beer before slamming it down and half-drunkenly complaining about the “jerk” that they are working with!
Bonus points if the scene begins with a closeup of the glass slamming against the table...
"The Resignation Letter"
And NO drama involving an employee working somewhere would be complete without the standard “Resignation Letter” trope!!!
The main character will feel guilty/inadequate about his/her work and will turn in a resignation letter. The Boss will NEVER accept it, instead tucking it away and saying he’ll hold onto it for the time being. Later on when things get resolved, the said letter will be pulled out and torn up/thrown away.
A Backstabber Within the Company
When a group of hopefuls try and create a new business idea, we watch them go from humble beginnings and inspired takeoff- and it’s when the company is JUST about to meet success-that someone in the group will secretly BETRAY the company and sell them out!
It will take some time, but the culprit will soon be identified and, after a confrontation with the boss and crew, will promptly be let go.
But don’t worry! Once he/she has learned his lesson, not only will the boss forgive the culprit- but happily tell him/her that he is welcome to REJOIN the company COMPLETELY back on good terms with them!
It’s then that the betrayer will finally break down, sobbing how sorry they are and gratefully accepting the pardon and re-employment with the company.
"Fainting From Over-Exertion"
There will inevitably be the episode where they show the character working obsessively for a project, staying late, not eating and losing sleep. They will ultimately faint, falling over in front of their stunned co-workers.
Later,at the hospital, The Doctor's diagnosis will be "not serious-just get lots of rest"
"Working Construction at Night Because I Need Money"
In just about EVERY drama there's a character who is struggling with money and ends up taking on a night job doing heavy lifting at a street construction repair site. These must be the most ubiquitous jobs since they always seem to get them with no problem whatsoever! But working a day job/going to school and then working nights will lead to the "Fainting From Over-Exertion" cliche.
*The construction slant is mostly for guys. For girls , it's usually:
"Working As a Caba-Club Hostess at Night Because I Need Money"
Usually when it's a girl who is struggling with money , the night job she ends up taking is being a hostess in a Cabaret Club Hostess. Like the Construction job, Hostessing must be the most ubiquitous job since they always seem to get them with no problem whatsoever!
Whereas the guy will eventually fall over from exhaustion, for the girls it seems to be she gets attacked/blackmailed by a lecherous customer, and needs to be saved by someone, usually her teacher or fellow students.
"The Stay-At-Home Student"
EVERY school-based drama has this trope of the kid who doesn't come to school and it's up to his or her classmates and/or the charismatic TEACHER to go to the house and find out what the problem is, SOLVE said problem and get the kid BACK to class!
"The Interrupted Kiss"
The male and female leads who have heretofore skirted the idea of romance suddenly are face to face with each other and drawing in closer and closer for a kiss... UNTIL SOMEONE STEPS INTO THE ROOM and INTERRUPTS THEM
This is also the same set-up for
"The Interrupted Confession"
One of the leads finally decides it's time to confess their love. They have the person in a quiet place and begins "I have something to confess... I Love..." AND THEN SOMEONE INTERRUPTS THEM
"The False Hate Declaration"
Girl spends the first few episodes insisting that she DOESN’T like the boy lead, even though everyone can clearly see that she does.
When another girl (usually her best friend but sometimes not) asks her point blank “Do you like him?”, she will swear she DOESN’T, and then the friend will say, “Well in that case, I'M going to ask him out. Will you support me?”
The girl will say YES, she will support her friend…but it’s at that moment that she decides, “GUESS WHAT, I really DO like him!” and proceeds to backstab her friend in the name of true love!
REALLY hate this trope because heroine has all the time in the WORLD to show her feelings but it’s only when someone ELSE’S heart is involved does she snatch the guy back!
"The Misunderstood Kiss"
A person will accidentally see his or her love interest embracing/kissing
someone and assume they are romantically involved. From then, he or she will act stand-offish and awkwardly to love interest (and they will have no idea why)
"Hey, There's That Person I Like! Ooops..."
A new variation of the classic "Mistaken Kiss" trope that i've been seeing a lot lately is when the main character is just starting to fall in love with this new romantic interest and sees him/her out in public. They happily rush over to say HI...but stops SHORT when they see the person MEETING UP with ANOTHER PERSON who looks like it is his/her LOVE INTEREST!!
Cue heartbreak and subsequent "OH I SEE He/She already HAS a partner, guess we were only FRIENDS, well, I guess that's OKAY!
"Because I Love You, I'm Gonna Dump You"
One of the most MADDENING tropes is when a guy and girl are going out and are all lovey dovey...until one of them is told by well-meaning relatives that he or she is BAD for the other (because of class status, weak heart, holding back their career, etc) and that if they REALLY love their partner, they will BREAK UP with them because it is BETTER for them. The person will then UNCEREMONIOUSLY DUMP his or her partner's BUTT without ANY explanation.
The rejected party will go through heartache and tears, but it's only when they get angry that a friend will say, "You Know He/She did it for YOU, right?" and then explain everything which is what they should have done in the FIRST place, The two will then get back together.
"The Female Manga Artist…Who is Really a MAN!"
The first time I saw this trope in, I think, either Yasuko to Kenji or Himitsu no Hanazono, I found it to be a FUN and delightful premise, but as I’ve seen more and more manga-inspired dramas, this is SUCH a common and overused plot device, that it hardly seems unusual anymore!
The Struggling Manga Artist
A newer trope that I’m seeing more and more often is the Manga Artist who made it BIG with their debut comic, winning awards and a publishing deal, but has since struggled to come up with anything and has been emotionally drained by the expectations hoisted upon them.
"The Missed Meeting"
When a character is waiting to meet someone for a date, if we are shown
the person in transition to the spot, an unexpected thing will
occur,preventing him/her from making the date.
Though I put this in the romance category, it is also used for the "meeting the informant" scenes in mystery /crime dramas, where the detective is about to meet the person who has the PROOF of a crime...but of course they are killed en route.
" The Missed Meeting II"
A variation of the meeting for a date trope is that one person will be LATE for their date for various reasons and will not get there til HOURS past the time, usually by then the park/restaurant,etc will be CLOSED.
The person will be sad, thinking that the person they were supposed to have met will be long gone. But then the camera will pull back and the person will be standing there!
A similar variation on this theme is
"The Fake-Out Plane Departure"
A oft used chestnut of romcoms is when the couple is torn apart because one of them is leaving for another country. Two cliches are always used here.
When the loved one is leaving, the other will stubbornly refuse to see them off. But at the LAST MINUTE, they will RUN frantically to the airport to catch them and declare their love.
The person will arrive at the airport and think they were TOO LATE and missed them. But then the camera will pull back and the person will be standing there, waiting for them.
Cue hugs and tears.
"Chekhov's Swimming Pool"
Chekhov’s Gun is the foreshadowing theory that if a gun appears early in a story or scene, said gun MUST be used later in the story. And no better example of this is the EXTREMELY overused trope in J-dramas of the “Swimming Pool at a Fancy Dress Dinner” where as SOON as you see the swimming pool, you KNOW that at some point someone is gonna FALL right INTO it!
"The Bad-Tasting Food"
Another common trope is when the main character makes something to eat. Everyone takes a bite and they reveal it tastes bad.
The main character is always shocked at the reaction: “Eh? It doesn’t taste good…?” then, taking a bite themselves, makes a face and goes “Mazui! It’s bad!”
A fairly unbelievable trope since no one makes a meal for everyone to eat without tasting it themselves first! And then looking stunned when it’s bad like they are CONVINCED it was going to taste awesome, LOL
"Bonding Through Sickness"
Closeness between two feuding characters will be resolved when one is
ill, and the other takes care of him/her. This will be highlighted by
showing person wringing a washcloth and placing it on the forehead of the
sick person.
*This seems to be a 90's trope as I haven't seen this one used in any dramas for years now.
"Shoved Into Path of Oncoming Truck"
Here’s an easy shortcut dramas use to convey that the main character is in DANGER.
They will be waiting for the crosswalk light to change, when someone steps behind them. When a huge truck comes by, the main character will be SHOVED out into the street and we will get this iconic shot of them staring into the headlights.
But never fear, the main character is in no real danger as it's only meant to show that the bad guy means business!!! Most times the vehicle stops in time, otherwise it's only a bandaged arm or hand, at most a few days in a hospital bed...
"Unexpected Person at the Haka"
Whenever a lone character goes to visit a grave and give offerings, he/she will be startled by the unexpected arrival of another person. Then the two will talk about the deceased, usually they employ this method to explain backstory between the deceased and the main character.
"The Stab Embrace"
I think if anyone got stabbed with a knife, their first reaction would be to scream, leap away from the attacker and/or shove him away, flailing arms to keep him at bay! But for J-dramas, they always use the Stab embrace, where the attacker slowly leans in and hugs the victim and you hear a stabbing sound. The victim will NOT react other than make big eyes and then, in a dramatic fashion, s-l-o-w-l-y fall down to his or her knees and crumple on the floor, a stain of blood spreading on their shirt by their stomach.
A oft-used variation is when the victim is ABOUT to get stabbed...but then someone steps in front of them at the last moment and THEY are the ones who get the stab and dramatic fall.
If it's a murder show, the victim will die IMMEDIATELY, but if it's a series and the victim is a main character, her or she will be fine the next day, with the friend exclaiming "Thank God It wasn't serious!"
"The Pool Of Blood From Head"
One of the great artistic flourishes is the Hitchcockian way a pool of blood slowly forms out from under a victim's head when they fall down a flight of stairs after being shoved. The first time I saw it I was awestruck by the effect, but I was soon to learn one truth, which is the same rule that the Stab of Embrace follows:
If it's a murder show, the victim will die IMMEDIATELY, but if it's a series and the victim is a main character, her or she will be fine the next day, with the friend exclaiming "Thank God It wasn't serious!" The victim will have a lame bandage wrapped around his head and sometimes even sneak out the hospital early against Doc's orders.
More Cliches Coming Soon....
