Gomenne Seishun! (2014)

Toujours difficile de quitter l'dolescence, même après 30 ans !

On peut commencer par le titre japonais qui signifie « pardon, ma jeunesse ! » bien plus fin que celui en anglais !
Il y avait longtemps que j’avais envie de le voir, du fait de la présence de Ryo NISHIKIDO et de Ikari MITSUSHIMA. En général je fuis les school drama (dont je me suis régalée eu début de ma trama-mania !) mais il y en a certains que j’aime toujours beaucoup, particulièrement dans les dramas japonais. On y trouve une certaine fraîcheur naïve qui n’empêche pas non plus un vrai réalisme et le traitement de sujets sociaux importants. Ici, le moine propriétaire de Tonko mène la vie normale de moine bouddhiste : marié (veuf en l’occurrence) et parent de deux fils, dont l’aîné Ippei se prépare à prendre sa suite, aussi bien pour le temple que pour le collège ! Cet aspect-là, déjà, a été fort dépaysant pour moi, je n’imaginais pas une famille de prêtre de père en fils possédant le lieu de culte !
Du côté catholique, la religieuse principale est plus caricaturale, mais ne perd jamais sa qualité humaine. D’ailleurs le côté religieux est très secondaire de chaque côté, l’essentiel étant les problèmes de l’adolescence quand des garçons et des filles se rencontrent, la timidité, la maladresse, la crainte, et bien sûr l’amour !
Un autre problème que j’ai été étonnée de trouver là : le transgenre. Pas évoqué en douce dans un cosplay ou des allusions crypto-gay, mais le vrai problème de quelqu’un qui se vit dans le corps d’un sexe tout en se sentant profondément identifié dans l’autre. Le drama est de 2014, donc assez récent, mais nous sommes au Japon et ça m’a un peu étonnée quand même ! Le sujet est très bien traité, les aspects inter-élèves, ou inter-prof, et inter-parentaux également abordés avec ce que j’ai trouvé un ton assez juste, autant dans le sens « acceptation » que dans celui de « rejet ».
Il y a aussi le regret d’une faute commise involontairement, jamais avouée et qui a entraîné bin des conséquences, et toute une réflexion sur la libération de l’aveu, ou l’enfouissement du secret, ainsi que sur la nécessité de payer pour pouvoir se libérer.
Le problème de l’adultère est aussi effleuré, ainsi que le deuil de la mère disparue il y a peu et dont les conseils manquent tant à son fils qu’il l’entend lui parler sous les traits d’une statue de bodhisattva !
Bon, c’est un school drama, il y a de jolies petites histoires d’amour, pas du tout envahissantes mais apportant leur lot de clichés naïfs et charmants avec l’habituel festival de fin d’année qui donne l’occasion d’une fin joyeuse et conclusive, tout en s’ouvrant sur l’avenir des jeunes qui vont quitter le collège pour le lycée, ou pour un autre destin. Là encore le style japonais réussit parfaitement à nous faire sentir tout ce que le passage vers l’âge adulte comporte de choix, de révélation, dans une transition qui peut être parfois difficile.
Vous voyez donc que la matière ne manque pas, mais tout cela passe « comme crème » comme on dit, porté par la vivacité des dialogues et leur humour, même leur verdeur aussi, les Japonais ne sont pas bégueules, et par le grand talent des acteurs, surtout le duo de tête, NISHIKIDO Ryo et MITSUSHIMA Ikari.
Ryo est parfait dans cet adolescent attardé qui a du mal à franchir les frontières de la maturité, plein de bonne volonté, mais un peu maladroit, et Ikari assure avec énergie son complémentaire, en femme décidée, clairvoyante, maîtrisant ses choix et ses idéaux. Le reste de la distribution est à l’avenant, avec un compliment particulier celui/celle interprétant le/la transgenre !
C’est court, 10 épisodes de 45/50 mn, on passe un très bon moment sans s’ennuyer, avec pourtant de quoi réfléchir sur des problèmes extrêmement actuels, ou même éternels ! Je le recommande vraiment!

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I wacthed Gomenne Seishun! because it starred two of my favourite japanese actors: Hikari Mitsushima and Ryo Nishikido. And it was pretty good.

The story is very original and quirky, I really liked it. It was very funny and entertaining. The story also tackles on some very important issues like discrimination, bullying and LGBT, which rarely appear in japanese dramas. What's more, they were tackled with a surprising seriousness, and that was great.

The cast was great. Ryo Nishikido and Hikari Mitsushima were fantastic, as I expected. The rest of the cast was also great, but Yuta Koseki deserves a special mention for his performance in episode 8.

The music was nothing special, but the theme song by Kanjani8 was pretty good.

In conclusion, Gomenne Seishun! is a very funny and well acted drama that also has a serious side when it tackles on some very important issues, which I appreciated.

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Do you have regrets from the past? Things left unsaid or sorrys undelivered? This drama is all about that.
I really connected to the drama since I was in an all-girls school and the concept of uniting two schools into co-ed sounded fun to me. And the best part is that they made it fun. All the students were shown struggling with their own battles, and I really loved how they together with the teachers could sought them out. I loved how the teacher was more of a friend to the students. It was really touching to watch him struggle to atone for his mistakes by making sure that he could bring happiness to the school.
I am in love with Nishikido Ryo. He was adorable! I don't really fall for sissy characters but he totally won me over. The way he adapted into the role of an innocent teacher trying his best while carrying the weight of the past was commendable.
Amazing acting and perfectly executed script. Though in the beginning I thought it was slightly perverted, there wasn't a second that I got bored.
It had a lot of good things to learn but what I found best was: Stop carrying the baggage from your past. If you have to say sorry, say it soon. If you want to say i love you, say it soon. Because with time, others might forget your mistakes, but you won't. You will have to live with them every single day. So the sooner you let go, the better, and then you can happily spend the rest of the time making things right. I loved how Hara Sensei turned into this incredibly amazing person with a warm heart in order to make up for his mistakes but through out the series I wished he didn't have to suffer so much.

A must watch! Beautiful story. Beautiful Cast. Beautiful Acting. Beautiful emotions.

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Who did it? Who knows! How much do your past mistakes really matter?

Very cute and fun drama by Kudo Kankuro (you know you will have a blast laughing if he wrote it). I watched it a long time ago and while the key relationship/past mistake arc didn't leave a lasting impression on me, I love the interaction between the boy/girl classes. The way teenage relationships and feelings are portrayed is so accurate. This is also one of Kudo's most gentle dramas - there are plenty of tender moments between the characters (won't reveal to prevent spoilers). Kuroshima Yuina was a revelation here. Mitsushima Hikari is as good as ever, but I feel like her character didn't have a lot of room for her acting prowess. I'm not a hardcore fan of Nishikido Ryo (he was super popular during the 1 litre of tears days) but he acted with a lot of sensitivity here. A great watch.

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Usually I try to avoid school dramas because I think I've see the best of them. But I wanted to see Mitsushima Hikari (Hachiya-sensei) in a light role for once. And I am so happy I did! Not only she finally gets a happy life, but the story was so much fun. When I was watching  it, I was constantly thinking:

"ah, I want a teacher like Hara-sensei when I was in school" (he loves his students, he gives wonderful and encouraging speeches, and he is so cute <3).

"ah, I want to have students like them" (they were all nice people and honest and not one of them was mean and they were all fighting to have a good time in their first year as co-ed).

"ah, I want classmates like them when I was in school" (they were all fun and supportive).

There are like 12 students that are the main students in the drama, and each one of them contributed to the story. There are silly and fleeting romance stories between them: one day A loves B, next day B loves C, so A falls for D, and so on. Still, their friendship was never fleeting; this was a classroom to remember fondly in the future. I specially teared up when the transsexual student came out of the closet and all her classmates were like "we knew and that's ok". Same when her father, who at first refused to acknowledge his beautiful son loved to dress as a girl, finally embraced the reality and said "thank you for pretending to be a boy all these years till now". What a beautiful quote.

The script was beautiful,  nothing corny about it. I can safely say that this drama is one of the  best school comedy in Jdramaland. This one deserves more love! When I  was in ep. 6 or so I was already a bit sad since it was almost the end.

Nishikido Ryo was lovely as Hara-sensei. No wonder his student fell for him. Not only he is a kind person, his smile is bright and he loves what he does. And I love Hachiya-sensei's love story with him. The kabe-don, and the grip  in the train, and all her craziness. And of course, she looked so  pretty with that short hair. It suits her heart-shaped face. Really, I loved everything about her, from her face to her personality to her weird clothes. And she must be super-tiny because Ryo is short, but he was at least one head taller than her O_O

The principal (Namase Katsuhisa) suits this kind of role perfectly. He wasn't annoying (like his role in Gokusen), and his talk-show was very funny. First time I liked all teachers in a school drama! And all these students too... I loved them all. I have seen most of them is small guest roles in other dramas, so I am happy to know  that they are doing well, being still young.

Music was ok, I didn't pay much attention to K8' song but I know it suited the fun, vibrant life of school-life.

Mini-reunion: Ryusei Ryo (my boy!) with another Kyoryuger member.

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Fun, heartwarming and clever

A wonderful feel-good series packed with witty comedy, likeable characters and surprisingly deep moral lessons (which appears to be the norm for Kankuro Kudo dramas). One could call it a story of reconciliation on multiple levels- Buddhism and Christianity, men and women, parents and children, the past and present, and external versus internal identity. Acting is mostly in typical J-drama fashion but it does feel very appropriate for the mood of the series and it is executed very well, with Mitsushima Hikari's Hachiya-Sensei being a highlight. Kuroshima Yuina and Nishikido Ryo were also great, and there wasn't a single performance I could not commend. Nice theme song and BGM. As for the negatives, the series spirals into romantic territory with too much zeal, tends to resolve conflicts too quickly and easily, and jumps between time periods a bit too much- though these aren't major detractors. This is a great series to watch if you feel like being in a good mood. If only Hara Heisuke was my teacher at school.

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Scherza coi fanti e lascia stare i santi.

Anche a me non è piaciuto, che per raccontare una storia di liceali e scuole private, abbiano tirato in ballo buddismo e cattolicesimo in modo sguaiato, grottesco e antistorico.
Quindi trama e sceneggiatura molto scadenti, demenziali e prive di sostanza.
Di contro, gli attori sono molto bravi, il protagonista maschile, bruttino, ha comunque uno sguardo e un sorriso che bucano lo schermo, la protagonista femminile è molto energica e simpatica ... i loro personaggi, come quelli degli altri attori, sono ben recitati e alla fine ti portano a vedere come andrà a finire la storia.
Serie che, una volta, vista, non riguarderò sicuramente.

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Recordar tu juventud es volver a vivir.

Hace muchísimo tiempo que no miraba series escolares, tenía ganas de ver algo ligerito y me encontré este drama escrito por uno de los escritores más aclamados en Japón que es Kudo Kankuro.

Sentí lindo al ver este drama, es una bocanada de aire fresco, lleno todo lo que involucra la juventud que van desde los amores hasta los arrepentimientos, puede llegar a hacer que recuerdes esos sentimientos de tu yo del pasado. Nuestro protagonista es el profe Heisuke, interpretado por Nishikido Ryo... oh cielos, este hombre interpretó a un profe súper amable, comprensivo y lleno de esa culpa que no lo deja en paz, teniendo muy buena química con todo el cast. Pese a que Heisuke era el personaje principal me pareció que su desarrollo de personaje y sus acciones me parecían sensatas como profesor, a diferencia de la coprotagonista Hachiya-san (Matsushima Hikari) que era una chica que era muy cambiante que hasta miedo daba, así como las decisiones que tomaba. La química entre estos dos fue buena pero siento que faltó más desarrollo de su vínculo para poder comprender mejor de donde salieron ciertos sentimientos a lo largo de la historia. Por cierto, siento que Hachiya-san merecía más tiempo en pantalla y también que nos contaran más sobre ella.

Los estudiantes son un 10/10, muchos de ellos hoy en día son grandes estrellas y no me extraña.

Es una buena historia, te da nostalgia y te la pasas bien viéndola. Considero que hasta las personas que no suelen ver jdramas pueden verla sin problemas. Está en netflix, aprovechen para verla, no se van a arrepentir!

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the best lah drama school paling bagus, emang pertamanya ngebosenin, tapi lama lama drama ini lucu, romatic , bener bener baguslah, sebenernya banyak drama jepang yang jelek tapi ini salah satu drama jepang yang bagus
Heisuke Hara (Ryo Nishikido) teaches at his alma mater, an all-boys Buddhist high school, while being tormented with guilt by an act of misdemeanor from his high school days. Events unfold as the school plans to merge with an all-girls Catholic high school due to dwindling enrolment, and Heisuke's homeroom class was chosen to be merged with a class headed by Risa Hachiya (Hikari Mitsushima) as an experiment.

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It seams like the series is going after every single cliché there is in the world, pointing out all the rediculous things we are beeing to serious about in live, and yet manage to stay very serious about the guiding thread of the story, which is dealing with guilt. Loved it! I was roaring with laughter every single episode and was often imagine how our world would turn out to be, if we'd stopped taking some absurde things so seriously - it would be simply hilarious! Also: Ryo Nishikido was fabulous in this one, the dealing-with-guilt-motive was played very sensible and touching. I'm definitely rewatching.

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Once again, I'll resort to an Italian expression in order to sum up a dorama, and in this case it's the old saying "Scherza coi fanti, ma lascia stare i santi" (lit. "Joke with the infantrymen, but leave the saints alone") which is used with the meaning that, whereas temporal things can be taken a little less seriously, sometimes, Faith should *never* be made fun of! (incidentally, as a teacher I've been taught - and wisely so! - that one should always thread lightly when discussing religion, so as not to insult anyone!)
And that's the first problem I had with this "Gomen ne Seishun!": I normally am a fan of Kudo Kankuro's style of hiding some deep messages amidst some silly, sometimes even outrageous, scenes...but this time I think he went too far and crossed too many red lines, constantly mocking both Buddhism and Catholicism as he did here (oh, btw - and before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusions - it's not like I felt offended because I'm Buddhist or Catholic - matter of fact, I'm neither; but then again, even though I'm no Muslim, I still think that Charlie Hebdo's "satire" is utterly *disgusting*!)
But anyway, even without considering all the above, the script was still waaaay below par: the main storyline about the ML's past and his sense of guilt was interesting and well done, but unfortunately, apart from the ML and a coupla more characters, everybody else was a mere caricature - unrealistic, idiotic and bidimensional. And every other storyline was poorly written, with characters constantly doing something in an episode and behaving as if nothing had happened in the next one...there was really no coherence nor consistency!
The cast did well, all things considered (or at least some of them did, namely the actors Nishikido Ryo and Yamoto Yuma, and the actresses Moririn - no surprise there, LOL - and Kuroshima Yuina - she totally *charmed* me! <3), and the OST was kinda catchy, but the script's many faults made it so that this can't get the passing grade, unfortunately.

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