Dragon Zakura

Cast:

Hiroshi Abe - Kenji Sakuragi
Kyoko Hasegawa - Mamako Ino
Tomohisa Yamashita - Yuusuke Yajima
Masami Nagasawa - Naomi Mizuno
Teppei Koike - Hideki Ogata
Yui Aragaki - Yoshino Kousaka
Akiyoshi Nakao - Ichirou Okuno
Saeko - Maki Kobayashi

I never knew that another school-dream-teacher-student Jdorama would best out Gokusen and GTO.

Perhaps most of us are diluted with too many 'make your dreams come true' harangue and preaching through hackneyed stories we watch in television. What sets this particular drama apart from the rest is the focus on EXAMS/TESTS. I was really involved in the story because I, myself, disagree with the concept of having one-time written tests given out to students to judge their capabilities and designate their future. The progress of the story is manipulated by a lawyer/demigod named Sakuragi Kenji, a former racer-gangster, caught up with the cruelties of the society to solve the case of Ryuuzan high for him to earn money and keep his job.




Oh, well it still involves delinquent students just like in Gokusen and GTO. Nonetheless, the fun does not stop with making these 'bad seeds' eventually good. In Gokusen, it was more of proclaiming self-integrity and dignity, in GTO, it was resolving family issues, this drama focuses on one's self. And what better way to tackle thyself than to use the symbolism of tests. All the students have an average of 36 out of a 100. Their school propagates mediocrity and indifference to pursue a brighter future. But Sakuragi diverts their predestined future into the exact opposite: making 6 students pass the Tokyo University entrance exam. All they have got is a year to STUDY.

One of the reasons why I like the drama is the cleverness of Sakuragi to juggle with the real and the ideal. He kept telling the students THEY will pass the exam even if I, myself, do not believe they could. Reality-wise it is really impossible. But, hey this is a work of fiction, I'm sure they will make it happen. But the drama left me grappling with my own anticipation and expectation with the turn of events. You will never know what is going to happen: will Sakuragi's sweet-sounding promises really happen, will he say the same old sh*t about fulfilling your dreams and making them happen, will the students really pass, etc. I am very much surprised with each decision, with each plan and consequence. Most of the time, I find myself confused whether to agree or disagree with what Sakuragi firmly believes in. He positions himself in a quicksand of irony: he kept saying the world is harsh, the society does not show kindness and sympathy, we should always be cold and dispel the wall of emotions but every scene manifests care, gentleness and frustration.

Just like in GTO, Sakuragi is calm and courageous. But his actions are not spontaneous, they are planned in advance for a greater and a farther consequence. My favorite scene would be their mock test for Todai. All of them did not make it. And Sakuragi revealed he knew that from the start. But the important thing is to focus on one's goal. The mock test is another wall that one has to break through.

Japanese are fond of using great great imagery in their dramas. I really gaped at the scene wherein Sakuragi and Mizuno talked about two bottles: 1.5 L and a 500 ml. Both has the same amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen. Mizuno is about to quit the special class because of her mother but after realizing the beauty of hope through the aforementioned image, she regained her willful self and did self-study. There are 100 ways to climb a mountain.



As I've said, I really like the drama's focus on the Todai exam. Through the exam, the 6 students learned more than what should be learned from books. True, Sakuragi always put emphasis on passing the exam because it defines whether they made it or not. It is a pass or fail thing. No other way. But in the end, he indirectly crushes the long-built fear of success being defined as passing the exam.



To be honest, I'm really at a loss doing this review. I cannot clearly put into words the essentials of the drama. My advice, watch and give it a shot. I'll do the same, the second time around.


spoiler: even if the tandem of Yamapi and Masami is present in the drama, you might be disappointed with what's going to happen to the both of them in the end :-)

Proposal Daisakusen (Operation Love)

Cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa as Iwase Ken
Nagasawa Masami as Yoshida Rei
Fujiki Naohito as Tada Tetsuya
Eikura Nana as Oku Eri
Hiraoka Yuta as Enokido Mikio
Hamada Gaku as Tsurumi Hisashi
Mikami Hiroshi as the Yosei/Fairy

At first, I was decided not to do a review for this dorama because I might have the tendency to be overtly biased due to the fact that watching this killed my present and the next thing I know, I'm stuck singing Mongol800's 'Chiisana Koi no Uta' over and over again.

Then I realized... I just can't.


Ken-zou and Rei


I was sent down memory lane while watching the 11 episodes of the drama. It focused on taking a second look on the things/events and people that have been part of one's past. And I couldn't resist to do mind-browsing of all that had happened during my elementary, high school and university days as I became involved in the friendship of Ken, Rei, Eri, Mikio and Hisashi.

This drama is not simply reliving the past or correcting it. The character of Iwase Ken showed a lot of regret because of what he did that troubled his present but he was also very prudent when he had the opportunity to change his past. It was not a selfish act of doing what he was supposed to do: tell Rei his feelings. It was more of learning from what people have said that he probably just ignored before, listening to what he had heard, feeling what he had touched, realizing what he had known. I could so much relate to the drama in the sense that I have probably asked myself gazillion times, 'What could've happened if I were like this in high school?', or, 'What would it be like to say this or do this to a particular person?'. Growing up entails having a slice of regret for what had happened or what you've done. And sometimes, only through moments such as this, we get to notice that there is something wonderful in the most trivial time of our life.

My favorite scene in the drama is also the scene wherein I cried... a lot. It was when Ken was given the second 'chance' to solve why Rei wasn't smiling in the picture during his birthday. It was all because of a CD: Mongol800's Message. It was a bittersweet panorama of youth.



I couldn't say anything more about the drama because I would be too cruel to spill everything here. All I can say is it's very very nostalgia-driven, youth-laden, past-centered drama.

Oh, and I might add, I felt like I was back in high school again, thinking about crushes and what I could've done.


First Hallelujah Chance: His first attempt to correct the past





How cruel life is: Ken was asked to deliver a speech for the newly weds (his teacher in the university, Tada-san and the woman of his dreams, Yoshida Rei)

Bambino

Cast:

* Matsumoto Jun as Ban Shogo
* Karina as Hibino Asuka
* Sato Ryuta as Katori Nozomi
* Uchida Yuki as Shishido Miyuki
* Sasaki Kuranosuke as Kuwabara Atsushi
* Kitamura Kazuki as Yonamine Tsukasa
* Ichimura Masachika as Shishido Tekkan
* Hoshan (ほっしゃん。) as Oda Toshio
* Mukai Osamu as Senoo Masashi
* Komatsu Ayaka as Minakawa Kozue
* Yamamoto Kei as Endo Susumu
* Fukiishi Kazue as Takahashi Eri
* Sasaki Takao (佐々木崇雄) as Nagai Hirokazu
* Sato Yusuke as Takanashi Hiroshi
* Asou Kousuke (麻生幸佑) as Shibata Kenichiro
* Toda Keiko as Nogami Kyoko (eps. 5-7)
* Ikeuchi Hiroyuki as Hayama Yasuhide (ep. 7)

Move over, Kim Sam Soon or whosoever cooking/baking brain our century has to offer. I know this Jdorama has been out for quite awhile and it took me ages before I got to do a review for it, but I must say, it’s been worth the wait for after all the pondering on the poignant panorama of my life, Japan surely has given us a wonderful and visually delightful series that we could be gluttonous about.

Bambino is an Italian word for a playful baby who is very innocent and ignorant of the world. And if I would use my educational wits, the drama is a good material for Sociology/Psychology 101. I did base one of my analyses from Erik Erikson’s Psycho-social theory, except that age doesn’t count. Take it in an analogical sense. Ban Shogo (Matsumoto Jun) came into the real world of cooking when he decided to leave Fukuoka and face up to the narrow and intimidating streets of Tokyo, particularly Trattoria Bacanale (where he was referred to by his mentor, Endo Shin). The conflict starts when he thought that his arrival at Baccanale would fulfill his long time dream of becoming a real chef has turned out to be the reason why he would be left with broken wings.




As the saying goes, we rise after we fall. And so did Ban. With the instinctive help of the people around (Katori, Asuka, Kuwahari, Yonamine, Masashi, Mizuki, Oda and of course, Shishido Tekkan ), he was able to fulfill his dreams in the end.

But I’m not after Ban Shogo’s dream becoming a reality. What I admired about in this drama is the journey towards that dream. I’ve mentioned that this series could be a great material for Sociology classes because it does not only show how the insatiable human mind works but also how one plays around in a given situation and place. The series is a 12-episode-long-lecture on how one should live his or her life, purposely, his or her work.




And doing the review is quite timely for I am in the latter part of a long hiatus (I love the word compared to vacation) in work. It’s a pretty boring one, save for the time I can watch great films and series such as this. Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about work, and this drama has made sure that I will be saved from all those negative assessments and the wrong path I could be propelled into because of, uhm, too much thinking.

Yoroshii!!! So here are some of the great lines that struck me the most while watching:

1. Rhetorical question
“You’re Japanese, why do you like Italian food?” (when Chef Tekkan recalled his journey in Italy and he was asked by an Italian about his passion about Italian food. In the end, he didn’t give any answer at all).

2. Be responsible
“When things go bad, you don’t say it’s his fault, or the situation’s fault, or somebody’s fault. After all, we chose this work ourselves. So it can’t be anyone else’s fault. So if things don’t go well, you are always accountable. Things become simple, if you think like that.” (Tekkan talking to Bambino)
3. Fix the present, then dream
“Those people who can’t focus on their work in front of them don’t deserve to dream about their future” (Kuwahara-san to Bambino when the latter despised the fact that he was hired as a waiter)

4. Everyone is a bambino
“Let’s go somewhere…together and be bambinos again” (Tekkan to Endo-san when the former was surely envious of Bambino’s failure and hard work)

5. Sacrifice
“It hurts but I’ve gained myself again” (Bambino, after quitting the summer menu competition. It was the time when he realized that the competition is ruining his work because he was voracious about winning. He decided to give it up even if it calls to open the door to become a chef).




My favorite line would be that of Bambino when he was conversing with his ex-girlfriend, Eri about work. They were talking about how hard work is. He trailed back his life in school when everything was easier yet you are forced to go to school no matter what. With work, it’s the same except for the fact that it is harder. But the most fulfilling part about work is when one has overcome the long fight of working. That is the time when one is no longer concerned about losing work. One can easily quit not because work is hard and it is the only way to live but the fact that work is already life itself.

There are a lot of memorable scenes that I’m sure everyone who works can relate to. One would be the feel of monotony. Bambino came to a point wherein he was alarmed after talking to his ‘senpai’ about missing out on different things: movies, music, and the array of worldly pleasures the society has to offer. He was too focused in cooking that his senpai thinks he is wasting his youth away. And that’s the time when Kuwahara-san told him that wanting something means sacrificing something as well.

I love it when the three pillars of Baccanale would be doing their so-called analysis of the events that are happening in the restaurant. It’s as if they are reporters on an action-packed scene, most of the time, Bambino’s life. One of the last scenes was Bambino informing them that he would be leaving for Italy, as soon as possible. They took pleasure in how vigorous and excited Bambino was that his words were jumbled and all cluttered. Then Kuwahara-san mentioned that Bambino is always on the run (literally). His literal ‘run’ was fastened with a figurative expansion of how young people are: ravenous and eager.




The only imperfection about this drama is Bambino/Matsumoto Jun himself. He’s really bad at acting. I’m a big fan but his smile and his contorted face when crying terribly brought the momentum to a flat end. His exaggerated acting in Hana Yori is continually reflected in the drama.

The story-line and the dialogue were faultless. They were very lifelike, convincing and reasonable. I definitely benefited from Katori’s slap on the wrist when he told Bambino the harsh truth that you work for yourself and not for this or any restaurant. Work is a long journey. One can’t stand still because a lifetime is not enough for all of us to discover something new and become bambinos all over again…and again.

1 Litre of Tears

Cast:
Erika Sawajiri - Aya Ikeuchi
Hiroko Yakushimaru - Shioka Ikeuchi (Aya's mother)
Ryō Nishikido - Haruto Asō (Aya's later love interest and her lover)
Takanori Jinnai - Mizuo Ikeuchi (Aya's father)
Riko Narumi - Ako Ikeuchi (Aya's little sister)
Naohito Fujiki - Hiroshi Mizuno (Doctor)

Based on the best-selling diary, this 11-episode series literally succeeded in making me shed, err, a liter (or more) of tears.

From being active in entertainment forum, I knew that in this drama, a lead cast would die. I just don’t know who and how. And that is why, when I realized it’s a story about a 15-year old student who lives a happy life, always sports her most cheerful smile especially when she got accepted at a school of her choice and even excelled in her basketball team, got appointed as class president, it is instant murder to say that she has SCD (Spinocerebellar Degeneration), an incurable disease that will slowly kill her peripheral nerves. Meaning, she gradually won’t be able to walk, talk and even eat. What’s worse is her mental activities will be normal. That’s crueler compared to being mentally retarded. Imagine you are aware that you will become helpless and useless in the future.




A lot of factors amazed me while watching the drama.

1. Focus on medical research
Mizuno is the doctor of Ikeuchi Aya. What struck me the most about his character was his greediness for information to actually help his patients. It is a harsh reality that most of the doctors and medical people fail to save lives because of their focus on saving themselves. We know for a fact that the medical world is very competitive. Doctors in our country go to other countries to gather selfish knowledge and fame and save themselves from shame. But Mizuno is very different. He confessed to Asou Haruto at the end of the drama, “Aya-san is very strong, I get courage from her everyday.” He emphasized that every time a new patient sits on the chair in his room to hear from him lies as he tells them ‘Don’t give up, there is still hope’, he feels sorry for his coward self. But meeting Aya is different. Why would a doctor give up when the patient has not? I also like the progress about medical research. A life taken away is a chance to progress. It doesn’t mean a failure. It is indeed, a chance to do better and to continue searching for the answer.

2. The Ikeuchi Family

I fell in love with Aya’s family— from her dirty/talkative father, her good-natured and patient mother, understanding sister (Ako), supportive brother (Hiroki) and another cute sister (Rika). My favorite scene with her family was when they celebrated Christmas with Aya even if it is not yet Christmas.




3. Reality bites

It is not a fairy-tale ending after all. I am used to having happy endings because of Philippine drama. Being based from an original/real-life story, this drama had showed the cruel world we all live in: being disabled/handicapped meant being ostracized in the society. There was this scene when even young kids make fun of those people who can’t walk. Aya’s admirer left her when he knew about her sickness. People in the neighborhood passed one gossip to another about the family’s situation. The ending, was the best for it did not anymore show what happened to Haruto after Aya’s death.

It’s not the first time to have a drama about people in wheelchairs eventually dying. But it is the first time to have a person who is close to paralysis to inspire people through writing. I marveled at the idea of Aya “being useful to other people” even though she looks helpless and useless. I broke down into buckets of tears in the scene wherein Aya tried to make a phone call to her mother because she is scared of closing her eyes. She cannot sleep because she fears that the next day will take something away from her. All of the things she can do before gradually lessen. Her mother out of maternal instinct rushed to the hospital and found her beside the telephone booth. She told her mother that she tried to dial the number many times but her illness failed her to do so. Her mother pushed her back into the room and told her what it is that she can do that no one else can. And the answer is her diaries. Despite having difficulty to move her hands and fingers, she had gathered up the strength to write everyday.

The drama is about treasuring the present. My favorite line would be Aya talking to Haruto about walking. She has accepted that in the future she won’t be able to walk anymore. So no matter how difficult it is, she tries her best in doing rehabilitation. No matter how long it will take her, she prefers to walk like a turtle instead of relying too much on wheelchair. The scene was in the university where Haruto studies. She took a look around the area and saw people walking and running. And then she said, “I wonder if human beings are aware that they are walking now for their future?”

Orange Days

Cast:

Kai Yuuki - Satoshi Tsumabuki
Sae Hagio - Kou Shibasaki
Maho Takagi - Manami Konishi
Shohei Aida - Hiroki Narimiya
Akane Ozawa - Miho Shiraishi
Keita Yashima - Eita



Sooo orange!

When I bought this drama, the lady told me that this is very interesting because it’s about stealing oranges. But she was proved wrong. Sure, there was the involvement of the actual fruit but it was more than picking oranges from someone else’s yard.

Orange Days is about the college days of 5 people coming in with different life stories and different group of friends. The main characters Yuuki Kai (played by Tsumabuki Satoshi) and Hagio Sae (played by Shibasaki Kou) first met when Sae was playing the violin and Kai just happened to pass by after plucking an orange. He was amazed at how she played and ended up handing the orange to Sae because he could not give anything else when she gestured to ask for alms.




Sae is deaf. But she can play the violin and piano very well. Kai, on the other, is a Social Psychology major who has an older girlfriend and is pressured by her maturity. So he is constantly looking for a job that would make her happy. At the turn of events, Kai and Sae started to see each other often. And that made Kai very much interested in the kick ass attitude of Sae despite her misfortune.


Having their first orange camping

Obviously they dated in the middle of the story. But one thing that really did amaze me in the drama is on this focus on Sae’s disability. It may sound funny but she is the living proof that God is fair. Many times in the drama, there were God-involved lines when Sae kept asking why it has to be her. She even selfishly claimed that there are a lot of people who does not care about school, who does not care about music, now why does it have to be her? In contrast, Aida Shohei (played by Gokusen’s Narimiya Hiroki) who felt frustrated after overhearing his boss that he has no talent in photography. He envied Sae because despite her deafness, she knows what she wants in life and she knows what she can do. His girlfriend, Ozawa Akane (Shiraishi Miho) answered in defense of her friend that he has no idea of what Sae had been through. Going back to Sae’s why question, Kai beautifully answered it with the old-aged lecture, “God does not give us something that we cannot overcome”.




Okay, enough of the spiritual and biblical matter.

One major lesson that I have gained from the drama is how hope is reflected on each character. I also learned that comparing your life with another person is futile. You have to work with what you have. Self-pity is the most pitiful act one can do. And there’s definitely no point in waiting for someone else to show pity at you.

Tsumabaki as Kai and Shibasaki as Sae

Tsumabuki Satoshi did a great acting job in the drama. After his Waterboys days, he has continued to progress when it comes to his skill. His character as Kai is commendable. On the other, I’m not so much of a fan of Kou (acting and singing wise) but compared to her evil acts in Battle Royale and her catatonic stint in Good Luck, she handled her role very well in this drama. And for all the cast, they did a good job in making the Japanese Sign Language smooth to watch.


The Orange Society

Just a spoiler: Orange is the thing here so expect all the oranges. They have the fruit; they have their orange emails and even an Orange notebook. And mind you, they did a good job in singing along with Orange Range with the catchy song
“Shanghai Honey”.


The unspoken love: Kai and Sae

Nobuta Wo Produce

Cast:

Kazuya Kamenashi - Shūji Kiritani (桐谷 修二, Kiritani Shūji?)
Tomohisa Yamashita - Akira Kusano (草野 彰, Kusano Akira?)
Maki Horikita - Nobuko Kotani (小谷 信子, Kotani Nobuko?) (aka Nobuta)
Erika Toda - Mariko Uehara (上原 まり子, Uehara Mariko?)

I thought it’s going to be something really poignant because of how Kamenashi Kazuya opened the drama with a very dismal tone “Life is a game” narrative. But once he started to show his frenzy over the missing willow tree and even identified the “Sadako-posture” of Nobuko as the willow fairy, I knew this drama would be a light one.

5 points that would summarize what this drama is all about:

1. The predictable bullying process for those new and “uncool”

Kotani Nobuko (played by Horikita Maki) was always ridiculed and played at by her classmates because of how she carries herself everyday in school. She never raises her chin up, walks in a very funny way, dresses funny and almost never talks to anyone. One can barely see the outline of her face because of her messed up hair. One hardly had the guts to talk to her because she always ends up stuttering in response. As a result, the Bando girls (the popular evil girls, I suppose) find it amusing to torture her stay in school: putting paint on her uniform, throwing away her lunch, showering her clothes with water, etc.

2. Metaphor for commercialism

When Nobuko became Nobuta to be produced by the tandem of Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa) and Kiritani Shuji (Kamenashi Kazuya) I knew that somehow this drama aims to simulate, if not mock the marketing process of, entertainment artists in particular. Their goal was to make Nobuta the most popular girl in school. When her popularity was starting to rise, they started to sell products that are associated with her name. There was even this incidence of piracy when other students from another school learned about the keychain they were selling and started to copy it.


Together with their Assistant Principal, Katherine

3. Fame isn’t everything

A continuation of number 2, when Nobuta started to get popular, she has lesser time spent with her friends. Akira, who has started to like Nobuta, felt a pinch of jealousy because everybody likes Nobuta.


Crazy Tandem: Kat-tun's Kazuya and NewS' Tomohisa

4. Trust vs. Mistrust

I like the character of Shuji because the climax of the story depended on him. Shuji was very well liked in school. Everybody trusts him. During the school festival, he was invited by a number of people from different groups because they knew he is a reliable person. But Shuji came out of his nice shell and decided to be true to himself. Then, everybody started to throw their mistrust angst against him. He learned that trusting someone is really a difficult process. Trust does not rely on fame. Trust does not rely on acquaintance. Making someone believe you is very difficult.

5. Friendship over Romance

I was kind of expecting that there will be a major love triangle within the friendship of the three (Akira, Nobuta and Shuji). However, this drama failed that anticipation of mine. Well, Akira did like Nobuta. There were some parts wherein the viewer would actually assume that Nobuta likes Shuji more than Akira. But in the end, it’s all about friendship: being fair to your friends, having no favorites and biases. Akira even gave up his interest in Nobuta when he learned that it will only ruin their friendship.



Friendship over Romance

+++

Of course, there are a lot of loopholes in the drama. There was this part wherein a mysterious character claimed to be Nobuta’s friend came up. Another would be their eccentric vice-principal, Yoko Sada aka Katherine (played by Natsuki Mari) who kept on doing acrobatic stunts. And there was this really funny bookstore owner, who hates bad and ugly people.

I guess, the drama is not so bad for the light-takers. It’s actually good for one-time viewing. And you can’t help not to get hooked of what’s going to happen to the character of Nobuta. Will she actually become beautiful? Will someone fall head over heels for her? Will she really become popular? Who will she end up choosing in the end? It’s teen stuff. However, I definitely admire the opening and closing lines of Shuji.


Partners in Crime: Shuji, Akira and Nobuta


Life is just a game. If you choose not to enjoy it, then you lose, if you do your best to enjoy it, then you win.



Nobuta Power, Enter!

GOKUSEN 1

Cast:

Nakama Yukie as Yamaguchi Kumiko
Matsumoto Jun as Sawada Shin
Itoh Misaki as Fujiyama Shizuka
Narimiya Hiroki as Noda Takeshi
Oguri Shunas Uchiyama Haruhiko
Kaneko Ken as Asakura Tetsu

for complete list of cast click here


I’ve done a review for GTO recently, so I thought it would be unfair not to make one for one of the most successful live-action releases in Japan TV’s history.

I’m sure Jdorama fanatics already have the whole series in a nutshell and at the same time, know all the nitty-gritty when it comes to trivia and tidbits of details which are all available in the internet.

If I’m not mistaken, I made it clear that I still choose GTO over Gokusen despite the hype when it comes to Matsumoto Jun and Oguri Shun. Well, I have a compare/contrast sheet in this entry so as to justify what I liked about this drama and why I still prefer GTO after all.

I better compare the two teachers first: Yamaguchi Kumiko/Yankumi and Onizuka Eikichi (Onichi)

Yankumi

• Has never clearly mentioned how’s her academic standing
• Acceptance in the school was formal though only the Principal knew that she was from a Yakuza clan
• Was accused of violence because she’s the 3rd generation granddaughter of a yakuza clan
• Teaching methods are marginalized
• Uses Yakuza language but uses them in place unless provoked; most of the time she tries to show her students courtesy
• Asks help from her family (her grandfather, Minoru and Tetsu) whenever she’s confused about her students
• Principle: “Teachers should not be called teachers if they are afraid of losing their job”
• No closure when it comes to her love relationship
• Regarded as boring, dull and old-fashioned
• Funny but scary
• Shows weakness and compassion in front of her students

Onizuka

• Came from a third rate university
• Acceptance was because of sheer luck and was based on a condition
• Accused of violence and eccentric way of dealing with his students
• Has his own way of teaching without taking note of rules
• Vulgar and nonchalant about rules of the school and society
• Seems to know everything but is gradually guided by his admired teacher, Fuyutsuki-sensei
• Principle: “Teacher is still a teacher even outside the school premises”
• Successful love relationship with Fuyutsuki in the end
• Very attractive and appealing to women
• Cool and unpredictable
• Shows grace under pressure

To graduate!

Students of Shirokin (Gokusen)

• All boys
• Rebel group with different histories (within the school and outside)
• Taken as delinquents because of their looks, manner and academic performance
• Focused on friends and fighting

Students of Seirin Gakuen (GTO)

• Mixed groups (boys/girls)
• Rebel group because of what happened in their class
• Academic performance is never questioned
• Focused on gaining trust and knowing oneself

Co-teachers of Yankumi

• Showed gradual support
• Yankumi gained friendship and trust from them through dealing with them one by one

Co-teachers of Onizuka

• Collective support except for 2 teachers
• Showed full support towards Onizuka only at the end


Yankumi and Shin

Favorite Scenes:

• When Yankumi together with Sawada, Minami, Kumai and Noda were trying to catch a mobster so as to save Uchiyama. Yankumi dressed as a blonde girl who probably lived 20 years ago.
• When Kumai Tedou’s father’s died, he started to waste his life. His friends, in the end, helped him in their small restaurant
• The cute boy Yuta and Sawada Shin staying over at the Oedo’s place
• Still the cute boy, Yuta who went to the playground to practice twirling to meet his mother again
• When the 5 guys: Shin, Noda, Minami, Uchiyama and Kuma were hanging around Shin’s place. The 4 told Shin that he’s lucky to have such a place. They asked him if there had been a girl who came over to his place already. Shin suddenly thought of Yankumi and described her to them as “a quasi-woman”.
• When Shin went to Yankumi’s room to ask her if she’s going to resign
• Shin finally admitted (though probably jokingly) that he likes Yankumi. This happened while Shinohara-san, the other police cop and Tetsu-san were talking about the three of them being rivals. Shin suddenly appeared and said, “Actually, that makes us four.”

Off-putting

• Teachers should have a background check before being admitted to a school (Yankumi being a Yakuza and Fushikama-sensei working at a night-club)
• Are high school students warmongers?
• Scene wherein Yankumi looked for the missing yellow bag in the river
• Is there a valedictorian who was arrested and involved in too many troubles?


Fight-oh, oh!

+++

I don’t know for other people. But I still find GTO more polished when it comes to the sequence of events. And you probably wonder how come I only compared GTO with Gokusen 1. What’s the point of comparing, when I did not like the 2nd part at all? :)


Rebels with a cause

Tokyo Tower

Cast:

Okada Junichi as Tooru Kojima
Hitomi Kuroki as Shifumi
Matsumoto Jun as Koji
Shinobu Terajima as Kimiko

I was actually at a loss because of the poor line exchange between the characters, especially for the main characters Tooru Kojima (played by Junichi Okada) and Asano Shifumi (Hitomi Kuroki). Their love story wasn’t a sympathy-inducing one. On the other, although the plotline rests on older woman-younger man illicit affair, there was moral reprisal in the end.


Tooru and Shifumi

I like the contrast of Tooru and Koji. They are both young men who prefer mature women. But Tooru is the instigator of these wild acts. As follows, Koji, despite having good looks and queuing girls around him, has decided to date older women because of what he sees in Tooru. Although they are both having so-called forbidden relationships, they are very much different from each other. Koji is rougher and more physical. He is someone who acts at the spur of the moment. Koji also is a weak character because unlike his friend, he does not have the guts to settle what he has gotten into. The scene wherein his girlfriend Yumi, Yoshida (his former classmate whose mom he slept with) and Kimiko (lonely married woman he is currently involved with) gathered to meet him, he felt trapped and embarrassed. Tooru is very different. After dueling with Shifumi’s husband, he still brushed up the courage to meet Shifumi in the midst of an up-market party. He is also a gentler counterpart of Koji. He is romantic, bookish and outwardly placid. He is submissive to his beloved unlike Koji who acts when he feels it.

Koji was not consistent in his feeling towards Kimiko. Probably it is rooted from his unforgettable past when he slept with Yoshida’s mom and got caught. But the probable reason why he still aims for older women is his youthful impulse to be rebellious and risky. Nonetheless, he showed caution once in awhile when he told Kimiko about his rules when it comes to relationships such as he does not like accepting money from the woman, and no women with children.

The movie, released last 2005 was directed by Takashi Minamoto and was based on the novel of Kaori Eguni. It’s quite a controversial movie because of the moral stance it tried to depict. Women in Japan are very much repressed if dated back into the olden times. But still, at present, with a male-dominated society, this film timely showcased women’s sentiments and agonized existence. Shifumi is the wife of a wealthy businessman. Although enjoying all the luxuries in life, she desires passionate love and affection. She finds these in the 21-year old Tooru. On the other, Kimiko is a plain housewife who is used to her routine to take care of the house and settle all the “garbage”. She encounters the appealing Koji in a parking lot. Although both women are involved with younger men, they also have conspicuous differences. Shifumi is very unyielding to transcend the rules of love and kept her relationship with Tooru as silent as possible. Kimiko is the braver one. She had the nerve to confront Koji and show how futile the relationship was.

But I still could not empathize with the women in the film. If it is a means of women empowerment, I do not think the movie succeeded in doing so. Women are still portrayed as the weaker sex. They were the ones who suffer the most because of the affairs. Unlike Tooru and Koji, they have their established reputations, husbands, friends and acquaintances to care about. Yoshida’s role in the movie is perhaps, what I could think of as a considerable attempt at women empowerment. When she appeared again in Koji’s life, she showed gained power and understanding. The tomato that she threw when she and Koji were still in 12th grade (when Koji and her mom were caught red handed) now morphed into something stronger and harder. When she picked up the billiard ball and pitched it towards Koji, she felt relieved and powerful. And that also brought awakening in Koji’s part.


A mature role for MatsuJun

I guess the love story is not much given focus as to the social realism manifested in the film. The movie’s title, Tokyo Tower, was lame. If it’s going to be about love story, then it’s apt. The only thing evident about using it as a title is because it served as the focal point wherein the two lovers remember each other. No matter what distance and differences as long as the tower is lit and it is seen, they know their love exists.


Tokyo Tower

For more information about the Tokyo Tower itself check this link

Kimi wa petto (You're My Pet)

Kimi Wa Petto　きみ　は　ペット

Cast:

Matsumoto Jun as Momo/Goda Takeshi
Koyuki as Iwaya Sumire

On Theme

I like the manga-turned-live action’s attempt to dabble into the human-animal, specifically, human-pet relationship. This drama probably aims to uplift animal rights considering the general concept of valuing pets is very much appropriated within the story line.

As in the case of Goda Takeshi who took the place of the deceased pet of Sumire named Momo, it is quite funny that he, too, is considered “useless” by his master Sumire-chan herself because he could not do any chore properly, he always messes up things, and brings not even a cinch of financial aid to her. But the fact that Momo is the reason why she looks forward going back home makes pets not useless at all.


Matsumoto Jun and Koyuki: awesome or queer-some pair?

On the Cast

Iwaya Sumire (Koyuki)

She is the character that I couldn’t bear with in the drama. Despite her supposed “pitiful” situation given away, I still take her as an antagonist. The fact that she’s beautiful, smart and capable of anything does not make her a pitiful being at all. Sure, she must have a bad deal of superiority complex imposed to other people but she’s not totally hopeless. She just has to find a good match for her height and career wagon.

I detest her selfish personality. One of my favorite lines though from the drama is when her bestfriend, Shirotae Yuri (played by Sarina Suzuki), finally told her off what she truly thinks of the situation. Sumire always consults her and even a psychologist, Satoshi Asano, whose office happens to be on the same building as hers, regarding her “pet” activities and at times, abnormal behavior, when in fact, she’s the one who should be diagnosed. She has a very ideal boyfriend and then she still wants to keep the adorable and young Takeshi just in case she needs to be herself.

She is also an inconsistent character. People regard her as an upright person who can get hold of any situation, but finding and helping Takeshi is too much for her. Right from the start, viewers will get confused on what is she trying to pull.

Goda Takeshi/Momo (Matsumoto Jun)

At first, I find his acting very, very queer for I got used to see him acting COOL bullying and cursing people around. The moment I saw him in the drama when he recovered from his illness and desperately clung to Sumire, things got worse. He literally acted as a pet. He started to do dog tricks and all. But as every “Okaerima”(said by someone who greets a person coming home) and “Tadaima” (said by the person coming back home) scene comes up, I gradually got used to it.

MatsuJun as Goda Takeshi/Momo: One of his dog moves

I like how his character is built. Unlike Sumire, he is a quite consistent character. He took up ballet lessons and does not have a care in the world if people would think it’s only for girls. So when Sumire asked him to be literally, her pet, he quickly agreed knowing he would lose his precious pride and dignity.

His happy-go-lucky outlook in life is what the pompous Sumire needs. Honestly, MatsuJun’s built and “cuteness” are definitely his assets why the role is tailor fit for him.

I just find it very strange every time he and Koyuki would be hugging each other. It just doesn’t look good, at least, from my point of view.

Oh, and I might add. Jun showed his aggressiveness in kissing here. Whew!



Asano Satoshi (Nagatsuka Kyozo)

He is one of the key characters that rouse the story. As a psychologist, he is the symbolism of “misery loves company”. I just laugh every time he would tell Sumire that they are indeed, very much alike: people who are destined to be alone. He even called her his comrade and watched every event that happens to her.


My Favorite Episodes

The drama is limited to only 10 episodes. Well, I don’t want it to be longer than that. I could not take how degrading the role of Matsu-kun was in this drama. Since Jun-kun is meant to be the simile for a pet, then I do fancy the episode titles and contents of the drama. I do like the episodes “The Day My Dog Bit Me” and “Journey from Paradise”. The latter even took biblical allegory of Adam and Eve when Jun-kun told his friend about him and Sumire doing “it”. He knew for a fact that it was forbidden but he could not resist to “eat the apple”. As a consequence, he expected that things will not be the same anymore.


Downbeat Parts

I guess the impossibility of having someone as carefree and pride-less as Takeshi (even in drama reel setting).

I couldn’t think (from my experience) of anyone (not even my parents) whom I can truly, genuinely, and absolutely be transparent with aside from my diary and the four walls of my room. Sumire-chan definitely, as a smart person, should know the wide demarcation of human beings from animals. How come she suddenly poured her heart out to a stranger?


Pet and Master's walk in the park

I hate the repetitive narrative of either MatsuJun or Koyuki at the beginning of each episode knowing that hooked and faithful viewers should have known the details of the story by heart.

The ending is kind of frustrating because it still seems that Sumire just considers Takeshi as an indispensable pet.

+++

In summary, they have a good concept. It’s just that they came short to make it consistent and credible. I like the representation of women though. Women are portrayed as clever, if not superior, gender. Yuri’s very contemplative and observant even though she’s a housewife. Fukushima Yiori (Sakai Wakana) is very goal-driven. Even the secretary of Satoshi Asano is very cunning for she has deceived him so she can secure a job when in fact she is a 4th year Literature major in Tokyo University. And of course, Sumire who always gets hated for her frankness when in comes to getting into the heat of arguments based on knowledge. If I may add, she is the only character who “smoked” in the drama.

As for me, I’m not fond of pets and this drama did not change it. I’d still rather visit a zoo, study animal parts but no pets especially if it’s only purpose is to show off one’s social status or befriend the trend.


Being themselves at home