Nobuta wo Produce

Japanese title: 野ブタ。をプロデュース

Aired on NTV
From 2005 October to December
10 episodes

Main cast:

Kamenashi Kazuya: Kiritani Shuji

Yamashita Tomohisa: Kusano Akira

Horikita Maki: Kotani Nobuko

Toda Erika; Uehara Mariko

Ukaji Takashi: Kiritani Satoru

Nakajima Yuto: Kiritani Koji

Okada Yoshinori: Yokoyama Takeshi

Natsuki Mari: Catherine

Notes:
- Ignited my crush on you-know-who
- Seriously, everyone is in this drama!
- I rewatched it some months ago so review is from memories!

 

Review: Fav!

Title: Apt. Tells the premise.

Boy: He's popular, has a pretty and nice girlfriend but he's unsatisfied. Actually he forces himself to be nice so that people would like him.

Girl: Other people pick on her because she's weird. She always holds her head down, her face hidden by hair and talks with difficulty to people. But she really has a heart of gold.

Other boy: He doesn't care that people don't care for him. He's as weird as Girl though in a different way.

Plot / relationships: Though romantic feelings interfere as they're bound to, the main Relationship is the unlikely frienship between these three high school students. Each episode tells a self contained story that make the frienship grow.

What I really like about this drama is that under the weirdness, the emotional beats ring true, I was often moved. Also, it isn't predictable. It's confident, smart, doesn't hold back. It doesn't resort to easy magical fixes.

Other characters: It mostly take place at school though we follow Boy at home and sometimes Other Boy.

Funny factor? Yes but that's not what I liked best.

Music: I like the ending song.

Most egregious cliché: Friendship born from giving a makeover. Dream fakeout.

What the...? So many candidates for this category so let's stop at the first episode: a bookstore only allows good-looking people to read in.

Bottom line: Superficially, every character is weird but in the most important ways they behave like real people and I cared for them and their friendship. Do not watch in public.

Summer Nude

Japanese title: SUMMER NUDE
(Yeah, I know, it's not very Japanese)

Aired on Fuji TV
From 2013 July to September
11 episodes

Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Mikuriya Asahi

Toda Erika: Taniyama Hanae

Karina: Chiyohara Natsuki

Katsuji Ryo: Yaino Takashi

Kubota Masataka: Kirihata Hikaru

Yamamoto Mizuki: Horikiri Aoi

Takahashi Katsunori: Shimojima Kenji

Itaya Yuka: Shimojima Setsuko

Nagasawa Masami: Ichikura Kasumi

Note: I watched this drama mostly week to week but sometimes with two weeks in between.

Review: +/-

Title: Drama, you have disappointed me greatly. I thought I would finally be able to make fun of a title and then, you went in the 6th something episode using a voiceover reminiscent of Buzzer beat to say stuff about summer and emotions bared nude. But even with a Miley-Cyrus-like explanation, it's still a ridiculous title.

Boy: He's a photographer who lives a quiet life in a seaside little town. He is confident, very nice and always keeps his promises. Problem: He's obsessed with an ex-girlfriend to the point of stupidity.

Girl: She's a successful cook. She's nice (everyone in this drama is), energetic and strong-willed. She and Boy like to tease each other.

Other girl: She's been in love with Boy for ten years but hasn't made any moves. She is sad and hurt to watch Boy being obssessed with his ex girlfriend's unlikely return. She's a bit of a tomboy and very nice (of course). She and Girl become fast friends.

Other girls and boys: They should get their own mini description given their prominence but I'm too lazy and there is nothing special.

Plot/relationships: A new person gets incorporated into a group of friends who live in a small seaside town and have known each other almost forever. She brings change: new relationships, new endeavours.

Romantic relationships are gradual except for one ridiculous case of insta-love (You know, the dreadful "Wow, with this white shirt on/ without a beer in your hand/ riding an elephant, you're so good looking that I want your babies!")

Funny Factor: Throughout the drama, two teenagers live their own love story, quasi completely disconnected from the main characters, hitting all the hallmarks of "epic" love. It's totally WTH, and funny.

Music: I really like one of the insert piece, full of nostalgic feelings. Overall, it was good.

Bottom line: This is a quiet drama, with decent people who are nice to each other. I like that and I wasn't bored watching it but at the same time, I wasn't dying to watch the next episode. It didn't have glaring faults but I think the pacing was off.

I'm sorry, drama, but I have to come to terms with the fact that I love over-the-top too much and that I can't appreciate quiet anymore. +/-