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!!!!

Troubleman (2009)

Country: Japan
Genre: surreal, yakuza, life,
Format: drama 12 episodes
Cast: Kato Shigeaki, Takezai Terunosuke, Iwasa Mayuku, Nakayama Yuichiro, Riju Go, Kino Hana, Terajima Susumu, Osugi Ren, Nukumizu Youichi, Satsukawa Aimi, Kanai Yuta, Katagiri Hairi, Miyaji Masako, Uechi Haruna
Synopsis: Tokuda Kazuo is cursed with bad luck - since birth only bad things happen to people near to him. As things get even worse by every day, he tries to find a way to get over that curse. One day by all kind of things, he ends up with his five other apartment residents in the same room and soon it becomes clear that they share much more than that apartment...
Rating: 5/5

Really short drama, okey, it has 12 episodes, but they  are like 30 minutes long, but at least 5 minutes of it are beginning and ending themes (I've said it before, that usually Japanese dramas are 45 minutes long). I do not understand how can it have soooooo low ratings?????!!! Average is like 2, but I think that it is a masterpiece. I am afraid that it is because it aired on Friday nights 00:12 - older people sleep already and young ones party (at least in my country xD) This is one of the most surreal and most interesting drama ever!
It perfect example that you cannot fight with the fate, it seems like a endless ring and it is impossible to get out of it. There is a saying that "What good for one is bad for other" - it is like a main theme in "Troubleman". I like the script. It is just sooo amazing. Beside, Kato Shigeaki is amazing in his role! All this pronunciation and acting is über xD

The built-up is amazing. At first many things seem hard to understand, but once you know the truth, it gets unbelievable scary. I think that this drama shows how small actually the world is (In real life, doesn't world seem small when you read my blog, but you are on the other side of the world? xD)
I cannot say anything much about characters, but I think that Yakuza's (the one in apartment too) story was the saddest. Whole drama shows different sides of life - we really can't see others past and feelings.  But I can say some words about Kato Shigeaki and his role.

Firstly, Tokuda's work suited him so much, but like always, if you do something great for people, you do bad for company, which gets you fired -.- A big line in it are mangakas and they are soooo kowai! (scary) I have always admired their drawing skills, but this time the gave me creeps! Especially Marcus the monkey O.q I have never liked monkeys and now they like even less -.- I think that maybe because they had to spend so much time alone there and then for the first time a handsome/sexy/great guy walks in - yeah, you might end up as a lunatic so. I have always thought if Kato Shigeaki can draw so well in real life too (I know that he might had somebody else's drawing), but he has played mangaka already for twice! (the second time was in "Chichi yo, anata wa erakatta")
I have always wanted to try hypnotherapy, which they do much in it, but I am afraid that I might recall some strangled memories, which might change my life (don't you sometimes have this feeling of fear in some situations like your mind says that something bad has happened this way, but you self cannot remember it?)

I love the theme song!! It is "Funky man" by NEWS (who are my favorites =P) and also in the very last episode there is a unplugged version of "Forever". I think that the end is the most romantic thing I have seen xD but when to think about March 11th 2011 in Japan, then it is a little bit sad and inappropriate. But still, I love this drama, it is just sooo wicked. 

Marry me, Mary! (2010)

Also known as: Mary stayed out all night
Country: South-Korea
Genre: romance, comedy
Format: drama 16 episodes
Cast: Jang Geun Suk, Moon Geun Young, Kim Jae Wook, Kim Hyo Jin, Park Joon Gyu, Park Sang Myun, Lee Ah Hyun, Lee Sun Ho, Lee Eun
Synopsis: Wi Mary (sometimes written Mae Ri) is a optimistic girl, whose father is always in debts, which causes problems to her too. She accidentally runs over indie-singer Kang Mu Gyul. At the same time her father is saved by a old friend, who got really rich in Japan, but now has returned to Korea with his son. The fathers decide to get their children married to each other as they once promised. To find a excuse, Mary asks Mu Gyul to act like they got married, so that Mary would not have to marry Jung In. But the situation is more complicated than it seems at the first sight and Mary makes a "100 day contract", in which she has to divide her time with her "two husbands". In the end of the 100th day, she must decide who to marry.
Rating: 5/5

It seems so girly-love-movie, but actually everybody are for their own benefit in the contract. People tend to be egoistic and try to get the best situation for themselves - all these things make it really interesting. I watched all 16 episodes in 3 days in a row (about 5 episodes for a day).
I do not know where to start... (*should get some sleeeep, get some sleeeeeeeeeeep... stupid pu-erh tea O.q under the affect of strong tea*)It is not like usual Korean dramas. The girl is not endlessly fallen in love with neither of guys and it seems same for guys, but all the emotions develop slowly. There are more than needed misunderstandings, but some of them where forgivable. Like why did Mary do all her bridal-training and wedding stuff if she had no intentions to marry Jung In?? Everything and everyone has its own limits and some people are more short-tempered than others. 
They definitely drink a lot in it.. like A LOT! but it is amazing how great actors both Geun-leads are, because their drunk-attitudes are hilarious, but at the same time normal for really drunk person. I find Mu Gyul  and Mary so similar (except that Mary listens to explanations and believes people), they are like perfect for each other.

I like Mary's personality, she is so sweet and tries to find the best solution for everyone, but I hate her hair! There is just too much of it! I do not understand why the stylists put so much hair-extensions on her?? Luckily she often wears them closed ^^ Also it is true, that on free time, she dresses like beggar xD I found that my personality is actually really similar to her. She is nothing like other Korean girls (at least in dramas).Mu Gyul's best part is .... eeem... eeeem.. okey, Jang Geun Suk is just so hot and sexy in this role, plus he is so great singer =P

Actually I like Mu Gyul's attitude too - he gets so childish when he is with his mother or when he has wicked mode, but otherwise is like god - all mighty xD I feel like he was the only person who the REAL bad luck in drama - he just happened to be in a wrong place on a wrong time. (In the end you might say vise versa, but at first is seems so). I loved the question "Between love, trust and hope, which is the most important?" You know the answer? =P It is loyalty xD but my mom said "love, because to her it is a combination of trust, loyalty and hope etc, so actually I agree to it. It would have been better if the question would have been "between trust, hope and loyalty" and then answer "love", but Mu Gyul did not believe in love, which makes it all understandable.

I have not written anything about Jung In (mostly referred as "Director"). He looked like a robot. O.o All his movements and speech were like automatic, but it was because of how his father raised him. Despite of  being robot, many many funny scenes were because of him! Really all those misheard things were giving me stomach-cramps! In addition, there is much  gay-theme with him, which makes it really hard to understand. Even Mary thought he is gay, because that would make sense of the  fast marrying and his extremely-(eeeeem...)high perfectionism (I just remembered one song about man of drawing, who is perfect in any way). In the end, I am 100% sure, that if he wasn´t gay, then he at least was a bi-sexual =). So the drama suits for people who are open minded. My older sister actually liked him more than Mu Gyul - she said that he would marry with someone like him anytime xD

I think I should say some words about fathers too, because they are the reason of all the problems. Firstly, I understand that Mary's father wants the best of her daughter, but god sake!, stop already! He ruined her life already so much, why cannot he let Mary be??! In some scenes he actually seems already normal, but then comes the real reason of his behavior - Jung In's father. I knew from the start that the-called "Japan business" was actually yakuza stuff. They do not say that it was it, but com'on! everybody can understand from his attitude and his guards (read: hitmen) that it was not something pleasant. I think that he was a person who just wanted the best for himself and he really did not care about anyone else. (annoying *************************************).  I felt like he wanted to chenge EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT MARY!

I do not understand how is it possible to have such kind of marriage registration? Just one person, two witnesses and other's signature does not make it a registration!! Same was in "Playful Kiss" where Seung Jo registered their marriage just with Ha Ni's ID-card. Does it really happens so in South-Korea?? I know that in "Marry me, Mary" actually father copied her sign, but it does not explain the real situation!
I actually did not like the ending. I would have loved if it had cliche-end, but they put the epilogue to explain everything and it actually ruined the end :S

Some small thing of drama. It has amazing OST! They have better OST than "You're beautiful" (just my thought). "Wi Mary" actually sounds like "We marry" in English XD which makes her name exactly appropriate of the drama and also, from her name comes all the "Merry Christmas" jokes. Ahh, also, like in every drama - the comparison  with animals. In "Marry me, Mary" they use cats :P cute-cute cats :P Especially the cat on the picture xD

Rumors, statistics etc: Many people have dropped it and it has received much bad critique, but I think it is because it is not a usual Korean drama! But in the end the ratings where so bad, that the scriptwriter dropped the project and they had to look for a new one (former scriptwriter wrote episodes 1-10th and the second 11 until the end). The average viewer rating (nationwide) was about 6 (compare it to "You're beautiful" 10,1!, but at the same time "Heartstrings" was only 5,7 and "Playful kiss" 4,9, which makes "Marry me, Mary" better than those too) . Despite of those things, drama earned many awards and is famous for GeunXGeun-pair xD (Both leads have Geun in their first names xD).
I strongly recommend it. It is so funny and sweet. I do not understand why people are complaining. I absolutely loved it and I think that people, who like my "5 STAR" list, will like it too.

SPOILER review: In drama it seems, like Mu Gyul and Mary do not share much emotions, but I later saw one fan-video of it (it is the best video of them ever) and I understood then, that actually they loved each other soooo much, but sadly this video was removed from Youtube
.I do not understand one thing at all.. Mary is said to be tone-deaf, but she wrote lyrics for "Hello, hello"? It would make sense if she wrote the lyrics, but Mu Gyul made them suitable for the song.
There is said, that Mu Gyul dated girls only for one month and in epilogue Mary says that they have broken up for 12 times and are dating for 13th, but at the same time how long time has it been since the got together for the real time? One year! divide it with 12 times and you'll get that they broke up every time after one month, but got together again xD