Kasuka na Kanojo (2013)

I just completed another japanese drama, this time none other then "Kasuka na Kanojo" (Ghostly Girl). I had a really great time watching it. The whole ghost themed story was really fun and with the facing of problems in a school class, I learned for myself some things for life.

Like I said the whole story is great. On one side, there is a Mr. Kamiyama - the new teacher of class 3-2 - who has problems to connect with his students and on top of that, he can see ghosts. On the other side, we have Akane - she's a ghost with no memory of her former life - she's bond to the new home of Mr. Kamiyama. While Kamiyama try to get control over his class, Akane wants to know more about her past.
The drama deals with a lot of students problems and how their teachers - Kamiyama and Mrs. Kawaii - try to solve them.

The characters are really loveable. Especially Mr. Kamiyama and Akane. The whole supporting cast is - in it's own ways - great. I think the characters as a whole have a really good progess during the 11 episodes.

What should I say about the music? I really enjoyed it to the very last minute. It was fitting.

A really great drama with a lot of likeable characters and a good story. I came to really like the main actors. I might rewatch it.

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This is a very good drama. Judging for the overall plot (a teacher moves into an apartment where he finds the ghost of a woman and has to go through his new teaching job while getting to know this very dorky lady ghost) and the promo pictures, I thought I was getting into a bizarre-ish comedy when, in reality, this drama is very emotional in many aspects. The problems and issues Katori Shingo's character, Koyama sensei, has to face with his students are of all sorts but go very deep into serious emotional cases: there's bullying (serious, scary bullying), isolation, harassment, violence and overall a lot of very complicated problems (take this as a trigger warning, since the drama doesn't really seem like it will showcase this), that go beyond many school dramas I've seen. Yes, the main core of the plot is for the class to get along and for the teacher to regain his will to get involved in his job, which is not new, but the things they face go further than a university entry exam or a troublesome group of delinquents, and it is very tied to the students' lives at home. That being said, I do feel it was a bit biased towards teachers and the side of the parents was rarely shown as positive, but I guess it was a conscious choice for the theme of the story. The relationship between Akane, the ghost, and Koyama sensei is one you end up growing to care for (the ending could be questionable, though, but that's up to the viewer), and Anne is splendid in this drama. Maya Miki and her, for me, steal the show with their performances. The young cast had its ups and downs, but I commend Maika Yamamoto, who was really convincing throughout the story. All in all, I really liked this drama, it's very smart and heartwarming, it goes deeper than many I've seen of its kind, not stopping into solving an issue with the students but finding out why they're having that issue to begin with and how they could solve it themselves. I highly recommend this if you want a school drama with both intense situations (well handled, for the most part) and dorky comedic characters.

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This drama is really similar to Seito Shokun, a drama which is set in a similar setting. In Seito Shokun, the homeroom teacher is the a passionate recently appointed teacher who is asked to take care of a dysfunctional class. The students in that class refuse to trust adults , the school faculty and more than anyone else they refuse to trust their homeroom teacher because of an incident that is covered up by the school.

Kasuka no Kanojo is almost exactly the same... except the new homeroom teacher has a secret: he can see ghosts. In addition, the teacher is non-passionate initially and is afraid to confront his own students after he fails to help a former student who was being bullied.

Each episode is about a new student and how the teacher attempts to help them sort through their own feelings and reach out to others. What I really like about this drama is how realistic it is. A lot of the problems the students face involve inattentive parents, apathetic family members, insecurities about their own worth, difficulty communicating with others, and being excluded by their own classmates. These problems are REAL problems that many teenagers also face and the messages that are given through this drama really seem to speak to the viewer as well...

I gave this drama:

Story: 7
Because this is my second school themed drama, I'll keep comparing it to my first: Seito Shokun... and I have to say I admired the teacher and the story in Seito Shokun a lot more...

Acting/Cast: 9
-All the actors were amazing!

Music: 10
-Background music was just plainly beautiful... it really helped to augment the urgency in some situations... and helped to make the sweet moments even sweeter.. :')

Rewatch value: 6
-Well once you know what happens, I guess it isn't all that much to watch ALL the episodes again... except for some episodes...

Overall: 8


Recommendations:
I would REALLY, REALLY recommend Seito Shokun! It's a very touching story...and very similar to this one... a bit better though :p

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In my 15+ years of J-dramophilia, you can rest assured I've seen my fair share of dramas based on the "Inspiring Teacher" trope and all its variations...to the point that I had approached this "Kasuka na Kanojo" with a bit of skepticism (you know how it is, right? Those dreadful "hmmm....another one of those, huh?" moments, LOL).
But guys, believe me: to say that this drama has surpassed my expectations would be an utter understatement; it's been a tremendously brilliant watch that I thoroughly enjoyed from its very first minute to the very last!!!
Fabulously written (you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll think, you'll smile....the whole nine yards, seriously!) and so aptly acted by the whole cast! Hard to choose only three "special mentions" among this star-studded cast, but I'll go with Katori Shingo (I'm normally no big fan of former SMAP members' acting, but he's the exception to this personal rule: always superb imho! BRAVO!), Maya Miki (again, always absolutely marvelous!) and Yahagi Honoka (the junior cast was also very good as a whole, with some better than others though, and imvho she simply was the best of the lot).
To complete the package, a beautiful OST (I particularly enjoyed the ending credits samba!) and a very good production value.
Perfect 10, as far as I'm concerned! ^______^

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Las apariencias engañan.

La historia me había llamado la atención desde el principio sino no hubiese estado en mi lista de dramas por ver, aunque debo admitir que la tenía como una posible serie que vería los domingos por la tarde al no tener más nada que hacer. Sin duda alguna juzgué mal la portada, porque me esperaba algo que no estuviese tan desarrollado, encontrándome con la agradable sorpresa de una historia que me hizo tener un nudo en la garganta, y algunas lágrimas acumuladas, en varias ocasiones, tentándome a verla seguida y durante el transcurso de la semana.
En sí la trama tiene el equilibrio perfecto para no aburrirte y querer preguntarte cómo es que terminará, pues aunque te imaginas por dónde van los tiros, la gran gamas de personajes te alimentan a más posibilidades, hasta el punto de agarrarle cariño y mucho interés.
La comedia y la pasión hacia la educación es la combinación perfecta que te brindarán. No hallarás chistes o expresiones exageradas que te saquen del contexto, y verás como poco a poco el desarrollo de cada persona se hace presente sin forzarlo. Por lo tanto la serie se gana un 8/10, gracias a su originalidad que evita caer en los clichés que estamos acostumbrados a toparnos hoy en día.

La actuación viene acompañada de la historia, debido a que sin el gran trabajo de los actores no se habría obtenido un resultado tan satisfactorio. Es agradable ver cómo adolecentes de secundaria pueden centrarte tanto en su papel que lo hacen creíble, así que por eso les doy un 8/10.

La música resultó ser muy linda, simpática y precisa a la hora de momentos serios no se quedan atrás, por eso le doy un 7.5/10 , porque aún así no deja de ser sencilla.

Voté con un 6/10 para volverla a ver, debido a que todavía tengo muchísimas series más que tengo pendiente, pero aprendes tanto de Kasuka na Kanojo (sobre todo si eres estudiante , representante o profesor) que en algún momento querrás repasar lo que te han enseñado en el transcurso de la trama.

En total, doy como resultado un 7.5/10 que a lo mejor para muchos es bajo si se tiene en cuenta todo lo positivo que dije. Hay que recordar que si bien es un dorama diferente, no es una historia super compleja que fue construida con el paso de los años para enlazar grandes enigmas que no te dejarán dormir. No obstante, no va a dejar de ser una serie muy buena, porque lo es.

Finalmente... a lo que tú has venido: ¿La recomiendo? ¡Pues, claro que sí! No dudes en hacerlo porque te hará sacar una sonrisa y aprenderás muchísimo con ella.

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