Nobuta wo Produce (2005)

Country: Japan
Genre: school life, comedy
Format: drama 10 episodes
Cast: Yamashita Tomohisa, Kamenashi Kazuya, Horikita Maki, Toda Erika, Nakajima Yuto, Wakaba Ryuya, Okada Yoshinori, Natsuki Mari, Daito Shunsuke,
Synopsis: Kiritani Shuuji (played by Kamenashi Kazuya) is a popular guy, who wants to appeal to everybody, except Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa), who Shuuji finds REALLY annoying. There comes a new student into their class - Kotani Nobuko - a girl without selfconfidence. Shuuji and Akira find that they may use their youth to make Nobuko into school´s most popular girl.  
Rating: 5/5

AMAZING!!!! XD THE BEST SCHOOL DRAMA and one of the most famous dramas of all. Many now-addicts have started their drama-addiction exactly with this amazing piece of art! And I consider myself as one of them. I remember clearly how I found it and I must admit that I just read the synopsis and saw Yamashita Tomohisa's and Kamenashi Kazuya's pictures and I was already in love with it. Also this drama led me to Johnny's, who now are a big part of my life (do not say I should get a life! I have totally normal social life!!!).
 Yamashita Tomohisa´s acting is soooooo great - his face expressions and the way he plays Akira are over the top. I know many, who say that he is annoying, but please, people, make a distinction between the actor and the character!Akira is childish, eccentric and has a weird accent, but he is also strong (veery strong - no wonder Yamashita Tomohisa got role as Joe in "Ashita to Joe"), competitive and cuuuuute!

I loved the scenes where Akira showed his manly side, it was like "WOOOOW" O.o (hot!)  Many Yamashita Tomohisa's fans' call the "Nobuta wo Produce" time as "The Akira-period" in Yamashita Tomohisa's life xD For me Akira is definitely the best characther he has ever played. (I think I said the same thing in "Buzzer beat" review about Naoki, but Naoki is like the hottest characther, but Akira is the best in every way) .
Disturbing was that Kamenashi Kazuya was so skinny (Thank god, he has some meat on the bones now.  Otherwise his acting was great too, but I was kinds annoyed by Shuuji's characther. He was faking and cared about his popularity, but not about the people around him. His popularity really shrunk down in the end xD Beside Kamenashi Kazuya talked the same way as in "Tatta hitotsu no koi" and it was really tiring as it is so monotone and sleepy. And Shuuji was put in the place of God, who is superior -.- But I loved him after his popularity had plummeted xD he was much more human then.

Horikita Maki did not have many lines as Nobuta, but she was the best! She gave you the real Nobuta like!! amazing! But I do not understand how Nobuta was able to get into this kind of situation for just that little thing in past. Childhood trauma? abusing, DV and stuff like these leave horrible marks in future, but not misunderstanding some things.. It looked like Nobuta is reaaaally shy, but she had so many times where she was so confident in herself that I almost fell from the chair!
One really important person was the vice-president. She said the things that have a deeper meaning and make people think again about things. I found all other teachers weak and stupid. They must give students the security in school. The school-bullying is a serious problem and teachers should do more about it! It is horrible when you are bullied while there are so many people around you and still no-body helps. (Let's make a world a better place and stand for each other!).
And lastly Toda Erika in role of Mariko. She is soo pretty and her obentos seemed sooo tasteful :P. other stuff under the spoiler review. Sorry

The little things of drama. After watching this you will know exactly how to make "Kon-kon", "Nobuta power", "Akira shock", "Bye-cyclie! -bye-bye-cyclie" and  Kame's kawaii-popular-mode. There are sooo many funny scenes which mostly are lip-ads. It teaches you to end your Japanese date perfectly. Girls just must say: "Kyou wa tanoshi kata desu!" ("It was great today/ I had a great time/ etc. you get the point of it, ne?). I loved the reason why Shuuji's dad married with Shuuji's mom, even though she was mostly abroad. To marry just because then you will have the chance to meet her at least once a year, but otherwise he would not had seen her even for that one time. Sooo cute!!! (all those people who are in this kind of situation and are thinking about a divorce and people who whine that their lovers are not spending enough time with them, should put that by ear!). Further more, Shuuji's mother's name was Kiritani Nobuko, what (dadadaaa)is the same as Nobuta's! The reason why Shuuji's dad screams "NOBU-DA!", was that it was a shortening of "Nobuko darling". Kawaii desu ne? Also you see that one Nobuta gym t-shirt ends up in Africa. Hint-hint Shuuji's mother was social worker in Africa for some time :P (It actually was not mentioned in drama, but I just made my own conclusions)

In the episode of school festival watch for the second, when Shuuji screams "I AM NOT KAMENASHI KAZUYA!". It made me like, "yeah, right you're not!" xD It is tooo funny xD Many of you might not get the November 4th thing in episode 4 - you must know some things about Japanese languaege. If you write 114 (11 = November, 4= the date), then 11 looks like ii-s (same way pronounced "ii") and 4 in Japanese is "yo", which gives you "ii yo" (means something like "great", that's why it is called a great day). Watch out for the ending piggy song "Seishun amigo" by Shuuji to Akira (At first I did not get the point, but it is so adorable and stupid xD) aaa! the song Yamashita Tomohisa is singing in episode 7 is "Oyome ni oide" by Fukuyama Masaharu (Only that Yamashita Tomohisa sings it in slow-version). Also my friend said that in some episodes you can see people dancing far Shuuji&Akira "Seishun Amigo" dance, but I have not seen it myself (so going to look at it xD)

The cute side-characters were James and Shiitaka. I liked James, because he was only half-Japanese and made drama more international-level xD and Shiitaka.. he was just sooo stylish, cute and hot. I so want that Wakaba Ryuya could get his big time! (He actually has acted in many famous things like "GANTZ", "Gokusen 3" and he also acted in "My boss, my hero" and "Sensei wa Erai", which both I have seen, but I cannot remember him at all! :S I think he has not have any lead-roles at all. Okey, he was a lead in "4TEEN", but year then was 2004)
I saw a dream of "Nobuta wo produce" after rewatching it and I woke up with nose-bleed O.o....

SPOILER review: I thought for a long time that Mariko is the bitchest person of all, but she turned out to be the best one. But it was so horrible what Shuuji made to her!!! :S Girl's heart is very fragile and it hurts much, when a guy you like says it is all a lie. I liked her especially in the end, I loved that she became Nobuta's friend,but the real end... that was just O.o weird.. Shuuji and Akira just left her, I know it was her wish and blablablaa, but still! It was a bit... gay-ish (btw. I love gays, so I am not so homofob!) Two guys playing in the sea..?
I cannot understand how people always fell in love with wrong people??!! Nobuta broke even my heart when she choose Shuuji over Akira. Akira was always by her side, but still she started to love the "popular guy who everyone likes" -.- NANDE?? :S it is too sad... I wonder if they were going to ever meet again. I so hope they were xD
I still believe that it might have worked out between Nobuta and Shiitaka.. I would have not mind that in this way xD
and a special thing... AOI IS A CRAZY BITCH!!!!