or not the artist is a marketing success. If the ratings drawn by the artist's previous work are good, he or she would be able to receive offers to star in dramas that are better written and produced. Likewise if the ratings drawn by the artist's previous work are good, some artist could build their career as acting singer. Formula for good ratings In evening dramas, cast members are carefully selected and tend to be famous actors that audiences are very fond of. The choice of cast members frequently affects the drama's audience rating, and pairing the right male and female artists is especially important in a renzoku ren'ai (romantic or love) drama. Cast members of morning and afternoon dramas are not as popular as those of evening dramas, as reflected by ratings, but with time good actors can gain popularity. Use of the term "dorama" is a general term used in Japan to refer to drama series and soap operas, regardless of the country where they were filmed or produced. In the Western world, the word dorama was initially used to refer exclusively to Japanese television dramas, however in recent years it has become a general term used to refer to all Asian television dramas due to the international rise of Korean and Chinese dramas. References External links JDorama.com— Large database of Japanese dramas, actor profiles and seasonal schedules. Video Research Ltd.— Weekly TV ratings (in Japanese). Japanese Dorama Database— The first early Dorama database in English on the Internet. Latest Japanese Database— The first database of doramas on internet Japanese entertainment terms Television drama Asian drama