Learn Hardcore Japanese: syuumatu ni nihongo no dorama wo zimaku nasi de mite miru. - On the weekend, I will try watching a Japanese drama without subtitles.

Often, yes, if you want to be grammatically clear, especially in writing or careful speech.
In casual conversation, people sometimes drop it and just say 週末、日本語のドラマを…, especially if the timing is obvious from context.

So 週末に is the standard, textbook form; dropping に is a colloquial shortening you’ll hear in speech.

Why is it 日本語のドラマ and not 日本のドラマ? What is the difference?

Both are correct but mean slightly different things:

日本語のドラマ
Literally: “dramas of/in the Japanese language” → focuses on language.
→ TV shows or dramas spoken in Japanese, regardless of where they were produced.
日本のドラマ
Literally: “Japanese (country) dramas” → focuses on origin/nationality.
→ Dramas from Japan (Japanese productions). They will usually be in Japanese, but the emphasis is that they are Japanese shows, not foreign shows.

In your sentence, since the focus is on learning Japanese, 日本語のドラマ (Japanese-language dramas) is more natural.

What does を do after ドラマ, and why not は?

を marks the direct object of the verb — the thing being acted on.

ドラマを見てみる
= “(I’ll) try watching dramas.”

If you used は instead:

ドラマは見てみる
This would make ドラマ the topic (“as for dramas, I’ll try watching (them)”), which has a different nuance and is not the neutral “I’ll try watching dramas” you usually want here.

In a simple action sentence “X watch Y”, Japanese normally uses:

Y を見る (see/watch Y)

So ドラマを is the natural, basic pattern.

What exactly does 字幕なしで mean? How is it formed?

字幕なしで breaks down like this:

字幕 = “subtitles”
なし = “without; no …” (a noun/adjectival noun meaning “non‑/without‑”)
で = a particle that here means “in/with/by the state/condition of …”

So 字幕なしで literally means:

“in the condition of having no subtitles”
→ “without subtitles”

Pattern to remember:

X なしで = “without X”
- 朝ごはんなしで学校に行く = go to school without breakfast
- メモなしで覚える = memorize without notes

Why is it 字幕なしで and not something like 字幕がないで?

字幕がない is a sentence/clauses meaning “there are no subtitles / it doesn’t have subtitles.”

字幕がないドラマ = “a drama that has no subtitles”

But in your sentence you don’t want a full clause; you want a noun phrase meaning “without subtitles” that modifies how you watch.

なし is a noun that means roughly “no … / absence of …”, and Xなしで is an established pattern meaning “without X”.

So:

字幕がないで is not natural; 〜ないで usually attaches to verbs (e.g., 食べないで行く = “go without eating”).
For “without subtitles” as an adverbial phrase, Japanese uses 字幕なしで.

What does 〜てみる (as in 見てみる) really mean? How is it different from just 見る?

〜てみる is a grammatical pattern:

(verb in て-form) + みる = “try doing (verb) and see (what it’s like / what happens)”

So:

見る = “to watch”
見てみる = “to try watching (and see what happens / what it’s like)”

Nuance:

日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見る。
= “(I) watch Japanese dramas without subtitles.” (simple statement/habit)
日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
= “(I’ll) try watching Japanese dramas without subtitles (and see if I can / see what it’s like).”

〜てみる adds the idea of experimenting / testing / giving it a shot.

Is the みる in 見てみる the same verb as 見る “to see/watch”? Why is it written in hiragana?

Historically it comes from the same verb 見る, but in modern grammar 〜てみる is treated as a fixed auxiliary pattern meaning “try doing”.

To show that it’s being used in this special helper‑verb sense, it’s:

Very often written as みる in hiragana in textbooks and ordinary writing.
The first 見 is the main verb (見る = watch).
The second みる acts like an auxiliary: “try (to) …”

So:

見てみる (main verb “watch” + auxiliary “try”)
You might see 見て見る in some writing, but 見てみる (hiragana for the auxiliary) is standard and clearer for learners.

Why is the sentence ending in the plain form 見てみる and not 見てみます? What is the difference?

Both are grammatically correct; the difference is politeness level:

見てみる = plain/casual form
- Used with friends, family, people of equal or lower status.
- Feels informal, like “I’ll try watching …” in a casual tone.
見てみます = polite ます form
- Used in most public situations, with teachers, strangers, etc.
- Feels more neutral/polite: “I’ll try watching …”

So:

週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
→ casual; something you’d say to a friend.
週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみます。
→ polite; appropriate in class when talking to a teacher, for example.

The core meaning (trying to watch) is the same; only the politeness changes.

There is no explicit subject like 私 (“I”). How do we know who is doing the action?

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

In your sentence:

週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。

In a typical learning context, it’s clear that the speaker is talking about their own plan or attempt, so the subject is understood as:

（私は）週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
= “(As for me,) I’ll try watching Japanese dramas without subtitles on the weekend.”

Japanese relies heavily on context, conversation flow, and what’s most natural to assume (usually “I” for statements about plans, feelings, abilities, etc.). Adding 私 here is possible but not required unless you need to contrast or clarify (e.g., “I, not you, will try …”).

Can the word order be changed? For example, can I say 日本語のドラマを週末に字幕なしで見てみる?

Yes. Japanese word order is relatively flexible, as long as:

The verb comes at the end, and
The particles (に, を, で, の, etc.) stay attached to the right words.

All of these are acceptable and natural:

週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
週末に字幕なしで日本語のドラマを見てみる。
日本語のドラマを週末に字幕なしで見てみる。
日本語のドラマを字幕なしで週末に見てみる。 (slightly less common but still OK)

Changing the order can slightly change what you emphasize, but the basic meaning stays the same because the particles show each word’s role.

Could we use 週末は instead of 週末に? What would change?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

週末に日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
- に marks time: “on the weekend, I’ll try watching …”
- Neutral, simply specifying when.
週末は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。
- は marks the topic/contrast:
  - “As for the weekend, I’ll try watching Japanese dramas without subtitles.”
  - Implies contrast with other times (e.g., “On weekdays I don’t, but on the weekend I will.”)

So 〜に is the straightforward time marker; 〜は adds a topic/contrast nuance.

The verb form is non‑past (見てみる). How can this refer to the future (“I’ll try watching”)?

Japanese non‑past form (dictionary form) covers both:

present (“I watch”)
future (“I will watch”)

Context decides which meaning is intended.

In this sentence:

週末に clearly points to a future time (the upcoming weekend),
〜てみる indicates a planned attempt.

So 見てみる here naturally reads as future intention:

“I’ll try watching Japanese dramas without subtitles on the weekend.”

You don’t need a special future tense in Japanese; the non‑past form plus time expressions (like 明日, 来週, 週末に) handles it.