Nobuta Wo Produce (2005)

Good friends are hard to come by, and sometimes those reasons are because we often push away others for what we think is best for ourselves. The lack of trust is often a by-product of selfishness.

I hate the word "expectation" because it has the rather high potential of being destructive. Many times expectations set us up for unnecessary downfalls. I watched Nobuta wo Produce with rather large expectations. Rather than crashing down on itself, the show scaled up the "wall of expectation" with incredible ease -- a popular show proved itself worthy of my tears.

Nobuta wo Produce attacked almost every one of my soft points. For example, one of the best characters, Uehara Mariko (played by Toda Erika, who did a fabulous job of being hot), despite her hanging relationship having been blown away by truthful words, realized how important that truth was and continued to care for her crush as much as she used to. It takes incredible strength of character to do that. I believe this is part of what makes this drama so special -- the fact that each character learns and grows from their high school experiences.

I found myself tearing up at certain points at almost every episode, many times dabbing my eyes at points that don't even make much sense to shed a tear at (I do this often). I was sorta disappointed at how formulaic each episode was with the blatant "theme" having to be solved by the three main characters, but the writing was done so well and the acting every bit as good as the writing that for the most part I didn't care. Every episode had me at attention and ready to face the next thing it was going to dish out. Near the middle of the series it had my complete trust that it was going to move me by the end of each episode.

This was my second exposure to Kamenashi Kazuya, as I started (and finished) this series after watching the first three episodes of Sapuri. Watching Sapuri, I wasn't too interested in this actor, but in Nobuta wo Produce, he did a good job of being the loner wearing the popular guy mask. Yamashita Tomohisa did particularly well acting as the eccentric self-proclaimed friend; after watching the episode 0 special and ending special you get a clear view of how abstractly different his character and real persona is. And like many people, I first saw Horikita Maki in Densha Otoko with an obviously tiny role as the sister. I felt she didn't really get a chance to spread her wings in Nobuta wo Produce. She did a great job being the one who gave up on the world, her dark, brooding personality screaming for help. I know her role required this, but besides frowns and tearing frowns, topped with several half-assed smiles, it didn't really allow her to cover a decent emotional expanse. Still, her character here was extraordinarily different than Densha's, so that warrants some merit.

Nobuta wo Produce was a great series and knowing full well that it would never get a second season like most other good dramas, I bet you 20 bucks that they could easily come up with another season of material for this. And that is a great thing for a show to have: potential. Excellent drama!

(Originally posted August 1st, 2006.)

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The ultimate shojo drama.

This is the ultimate shojo drama, despite its age, its immanence popularity to this day confirms that. Its a drama about friendship, about coming together and also learning to accept yourself. A very human drama. At its core Nobuta wo produce is a fairly straightforward story and in such narratives, it is essential that the characterization of the main characters are well rounded, in cases where neither are applied, the burden falls entirely on the actors ability to convey strong emotions to the audience. We should FeEl since there isn't much to think. This is where the actors shine for me honestly. In most shojo adaptations, since its usually written from a maiden perspective, the male leads are often written as perfect, almost porcelain statues. In mangas it works out because the writer effectively portrays the human side of such male protags but in shojo adaptations, they usually appear rather bland. some classic examples of good actors appearing bland due to the character would be Furukawa Yuki, Yamazaki Kento and Shuhei Nomurato name a few turn into pure card-boards with zero personality. They are good actors but the writing restricts them. Kamenashi Kazuya's character in this drama as such. He could have easily played Shunji like a cardboard, but Kamenashi's ability to balance the coolness and the human aspect of such a character. I have noticed this in many of his other works, he is extremely good a emoting. Even simple emotions he can portray effectively to the audience. Maki does a wonderful job with the empty combination of prejudiced stereotypes. beautiful jdorama. A puure classic.

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This drama is everything

Such purity is rare nowadays. I don't like dramas with big-budget or high ambition. I prefer simplicity. This drama is simple yet so complicated and equally beautiful. The best thing about this drama is depicting importance of all kind of relationship. They didn't overlook others to focus on its main concept. This will go down as one of the best drama i have ever seen.
The first episode was all over the place. I disliked Kusano too but everything started taking its shape from the second episode. Kusano is a great character so are Shuji and Nobuta. This drama is entirely flawless.

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A cult classic coming of age story ahead of its time.

I did not expect to like and enjoy this show as much as I did, but here I am. Maybe it's because I'm used to teen shows like Euphoria and Gossip Girl that shows like these seem like a gem in a million. It is a simple yet beautiful coming-of-age story, it is pure and innocent at its core and doesn't aim or aspire to be flashy or edgy like most teen shows. The show captures the true essence of the transition from teenage to youth in an eloquently beautiful way, it is realistic yet has enough components of drama and plot to not make it boring. It delves into several themes in a subtle yet truly impactful way which I found to be its most alluring aspect. The themes of bullying, social anxiety, and friendship, may seem like some of the most common themes explored in various media, however, Nobuta Wo Produce's way of depicting these themes in a not-so-exaggerated yet realistic enough to relate to/or sympathize with is not something which can be replicated so easily. Anyway, I just wanted to ramble on how good this show was since these kinds of shows aren't produced anymore.

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Well, it's a really charming jdrama with a good cast. To tell the truth, I'm not a fan of Japanese absurd comedies but the characters here and their friendship are represented in a very colorful way, although, let's be frank, the main strength of this drama is a duo of two of the most charismatic Japanese actors: Kamenashi Kazuya and Yamapi. However, they are really great here and the chemistry between them is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful bromances in the jdramas I've ever seen. Well, the character of Horikita Maki here often seems quite annoying but somehow all the time you can feel a cozy atmosphere between the main characters.
Talking about the story, it's an usual school story with a bit of bullying. Nevertheless, the good point of it is that the characters (especially Kamenashi's role of a popular guy) are reflected with really convincing doubts and confusion. The weakness of this cool guy seems realistic and the improving of his pusillanimity quite well developed. So, it's simply refreshing watching this drama.

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Classic coming-of-age high school drama that still shines nearly 20 years after release!

The first time I watched this drama was when it was first released in 2005, and what led me to it back then was that I was a huge fangirl of the male leads. Nearly two decades on now, having appeared in nice HD quality on my Netflix, I decided to give it a rewatch and I'm so glad that I still found it so enjoyable, even through "more seasoned" (as in, older) and less biased lens. I have to say though, upon completing the rewatch, a light in this former fan has been reignited...

The story arcs in this drama encapsulate the growing pains and challenges in navigating social life in school, including sensitive issues, in thoughtful and eye-opening ways that are just short of being incisive, which I found refreshing in the midst of more recent high school dramas which tend to really amp up the discomfort when portraying such issues. In Nobuta wo Produce (NwP from here on), they are explored just enough to get a clear message across. Then the events come full circle back around which is especially rewarding as you follow the characters' growth journey. This is particularly apparent in the ending, the entire drama wraps up nicely. The insertion of comic relief adequately balances out scenes that could have turned out darker/heavier otherwise, and they preserve an overarching message that a certain teacher ♡ affirms repeatedly. On that note, the adults are also great -- Delphine and the Truth Man!

The chemistry between the leads in NwP, as well as among the wider circle of schoolmates, is also worthy of praise. I realise now that the personalities of the main characters are in fact quite difficult to portray on camera, but the actors/actress delivered strong, nuanced performances. Kamenashi's slight changes in his facial expressions, Yamashita's irreverently quirky mannerisms, the changes in Horikita's body language and aura as time passed. Honestly, it's impressive considering they were still budding actors at the time, and the boys were originally Jpop idols. Kamenashi deservedly won an award for this role.

Kudos are also due to the direction and story/screenwriting definitely, as without such strong support, the delivery wouldn't have been what we see on screen now. The background music tracks are also befitting the various moods of the scenes and although the composition is quite dated by now, breathes a charming, low-key retro vibe to the show and syncs well with the colourful characters (including the adults!). The lack of filter in the visuals and choice of rustic high school setting are also quite refreshing among recent dramas that apply various filtered styles for a more polished, cinematic finish. The resulting rawness in NwP somehow paints a better picture of the "spirit of youth" and all the more relatable to my own memories of school life.

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i don't understand what people saw in han yori dango which made them ignore such a deep show
everything about this show is magical and subarashi!!
the show teaches you that life is shitty at times and you feel you wanna die but the one who remains happytill the end and remains till the end is the one who actually lived.
i loved how they showed the characters tried confront themselves and change a little by little but still not forget who they are
i heard the book was better but idk from what i heard in the book shuji never changes he keeps on being the fake shuji u know.Some people might like this concept but i don't as in the end u will be like everything went back to zero but it is a personal opinion .
well you could say in the end they showed that she was left behind was a bit weird but i guess for shuji to remain his real self akira needed to be by his side.
SO OVERALL I WOULD LIKE TO SAY ONE THING AND THAT IS JUST WATCH IT YOU MAY LEARN SOMETHING AND WOULD WANT TO LIVE U KNOW !!!

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