Dragon Zakura Review and some caps
What an amazing jdrama! I've tried watching some romantic Korean and Taiwanese dramas but unfortunately they weren't able to accommodate my mood at the time. I decided to settle for a neutral Japanese school drama. I honestly didn't expect it to be so good. Compared to Dragon Zakura, ProDai and Stand Up are mediocre at best. I even found it to be more engaging than Gokusen. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Yamapi played a very cool and badass character. Maybe it was the powerful character of the mentor played by Abe Hiroshi. Maybe because it was the well paced and realistic story. I'm still not sure why I liked it so much, but I would like to try to explain it here.
The drama is about a special acceleration class of six students set up in the worst school in Tokyo by Sakuragi Kenji (a lawyer and an ex gang member). The class was created for the purpose of getting those students in the best university in Japan, Tokyo University. Those six students are not smart (to say the least) and are total i-don't-give-a-shit delinquents! Why would they participate in such a hopeless act of trying to get into a place equivalent to Harvard? Ah, but the drama gives a very good reason without stripping the characters of their personality and their beliefs. This, I think, is what I liked best about this drama. It was very logical and realistic.
I greatly enjoyed the suspense that was present in each episode...Will they be able to do it? Will they get in? I was also very entertained by various teachers invited to teach the accelerated class and all their special techniques. The studying methods presented in the drama were also interesting and quiet useful.
I can't say I loved every character in this drama...Sakuragi Kenji (the lawyer who set up the class) was very cool though. He was demanding and unforgiving and yet he was often right in what he did. Every time he gave a speech I listened attentively, because there was so much power and strength radiating from his character. I, unlike the characters in the drama, liked him from the beginning. His words were sometimes harsh, but also refreshing. Reality and society are cruel, it's either you learn the rules or remain stupid and get punished for it.
I liked Yuusuke a lot. He was loud, stubborn, immature and so badass...Again maybe it's just my love for Yamapi but I can't say that I loved his character of Dr. Aizawa or Kurosaki as much. In Yamapi's adolescent days he used to play such lively and interesting roles, and now it's all straight postures and empty looks. =/
I didn't care much for Yuusuke's girlfriend Yoshino played by Aragaki Yuu. She just wansn't there...I mean she was, but she wasn't talking much. But Naomi(Nagasawa Misami) was talking a great deal in that high pitched trying-hard-to-be-cute voice (okay, not so much in DZ, but the memories of ProDai are still fresh and I just can't get it out of my mind. I don't hate her, I just don't love her ). In DZ, the story focused on Naomi's and Yuusuke's relationship because they were really close childhood friends and all...But not quiet friends seeing as how Naomi liked Yuusuke and Yuusuke cared a lot for her and was sharing a lot of personal conversations with her. There was clearly a hint of romance there, which was completely puzzling to me. (Spoilers ahead. Highlight to read.)
If they liked each other, why didn't Yuusuke break up with Yoshino and went ahead and you know...started it with Naomi? But no! None of that happened....And throughout the whole drama we see Naomi's and Yuusuke confiding in each other, hugging and getting close...Meanwhile Yuusuke doesn't share a word with Yoshino for like six episodes! But they were still going out and Yusuuke told her "Stop being jealous, dummy. There's nothing between me and Naomi." Either this was really true and we just have to assume that Yusuuke's and Yoshino's realationship was developing but didn't get any screen time or that Yuusuke was just too noble to break it off with Yoshino. I guess Yuusuke really cared for Yoshino because he did go after her and he really wanted to protect her...But in a completely brotherly way. I'm convinced he had no romantic feelings for her.
Ultimately, the romantic subplot goes nowhere. We don't get to find out whether Naomi and Yuusuke really liked each other...We don't even get to find out whether Yuusuke broke it up with Yoshino or whether Yoshino got tired of their non existent relationship and broke it off with him herself. I know that in the end she said that she will go to TU even if Yuusuke is not going. She has gained some independence from Yuusuke but did she give up on him? Who knows? And who cares? I did care, but I'm probably in the minority. The drama is not a romance story at all...
But the bad part is that it's not a story of friendship either. I really hoped that their friendship would develop a lot more through various interactions and situations outside of their study program. But it did not. I really wished they studied less and enjoyed their high school days a bit more. But then maybe they would not have been able to reach their goals?
I liked Hideki, he was so colorful and cute. ^^ Although I hoped for more character development...
Kobayashi Maki was adorable too. Omg, I felt so bad for Okuno!! Why didn't anyone ever want to listen to him? I would totally listen to him and tell him that he's an amazing kid with a kind heart and those awful judgmental and discriminating parents of his do not deserve him.
Ino, the sidekick for Sakuragi totally annoyed me. She really talked too much.
I still don't quiet understand why I liked it so much even with so many flaws. I just know that it was a good entertaining drama with a believable plot and unique characters. It showed me once again that reaching the impossible is quiet possible and challenging yourself is very important. It's also essential to learn and become stronger to survive in this world (and the first step in that is admitting that you are in fact weak, right?^^)
So cute!
So hot!
So pretty!
So hot!
Who cares about slightly weird hair when Yamapi is in a tank top? *_*
The drama is about a special acceleration class of six students set up in the worst school in Tokyo by Sakuragi Kenji (a lawyer and an ex gang member). The class was created for the purpose of getting those students in the best university in Japan, Tokyo University. Those six students are not smart (to say the least) and are total i-don't-give-a-shit delinquents! Why would they participate in such a hopeless act of trying to get into a place equivalent to Harvard? Ah, but the drama gives a very good reason without stripping the characters of their personality and their beliefs. This, I think, is what I liked best about this drama. It was very logical and realistic.
I greatly enjoyed the suspense that was present in each episode...Will they be able to do it? Will they get in? I was also very entertained by various teachers invited to teach the accelerated class and all their special techniques. The studying methods presented in the drama were also interesting and quiet useful.
I can't say I loved every character in this drama...Sakuragi Kenji (the lawyer who set up the class) was very cool though. He was demanding and unforgiving and yet he was often right in what he did. Every time he gave a speech I listened attentively, because there was so much power and strength radiating from his character. I, unlike the characters in the drama, liked him from the beginning. His words were sometimes harsh, but also refreshing. Reality and society are cruel, it's either you learn the rules or remain stupid and get punished for it.
I liked Yuusuke a lot. He was loud, stubborn, immature and so badass...Again maybe it's just my love for Yamapi but I can't say that I loved his character of Dr. Aizawa or Kurosaki as much. In Yamapi's adolescent days he used to play such lively and interesting roles, and now it's all straight postures and empty looks. =/
I didn't care much for Yuusuke's girlfriend Yoshino played by Aragaki Yuu. She just wansn't there...I mean she was, but she wasn't talking much. But Naomi(Nagasawa Misami) was talking a great deal in that high pitched trying-hard-to-be-cute voice (okay, not so much in DZ, but the memories of ProDai are still fresh and I just can't get it out of my mind. I don't hate her, I just don't love her ). In DZ, the story focused on Naomi's and Yuusuke's relationship because they were really close childhood friends and all...But not quiet friends seeing as how Naomi liked Yuusuke and Yuusuke cared a lot for her and was sharing a lot of personal conversations with her. There was clearly a hint of romance there, which was completely puzzling to me. (Spoilers ahead. Highlight to read.)
If they liked each other, why didn't Yuusuke break up with Yoshino and went ahead and you know...started it with Naomi? But no! None of that happened....And throughout the whole drama we see Naomi's and Yuusuke confiding in each other, hugging and getting close...Meanwhile Yuusuke doesn't share a word with Yoshino for like six episodes! But they were still going out and Yusuuke told her "Stop being jealous, dummy. There's nothing between me and Naomi." Either this was really true and we just have to assume that Yusuuke's and Yoshino's realationship was developing but didn't get any screen time or that Yuusuke was just too noble to break it off with Yoshino. I guess Yuusuke really cared for Yoshino because he did go after her and he really wanted to protect her...But in a completely brotherly way. I'm convinced he had no romantic feelings for her.
Ultimately, the romantic subplot goes nowhere. We don't get to find out whether Naomi and Yuusuke really liked each other...We don't even get to find out whether Yuusuke broke it up with Yoshino or whether Yoshino got tired of their non existent relationship and broke it off with him herself. I know that in the end she said that she will go to TU even if Yuusuke is not going. She has gained some independence from Yuusuke but did she give up on him? Who knows? And who cares? I did care, but I'm probably in the minority. The drama is not a romance story at all...
But the bad part is that it's not a story of friendship either. I really hoped that their friendship would develop a lot more through various interactions and situations outside of their study program. But it did not. I really wished they studied less and enjoyed their high school days a bit more. But then maybe they would not have been able to reach their goals?
I liked Hideki, he was so colorful and cute. ^^ Although I hoped for more character development...
Kobayashi Maki was adorable too. Omg, I felt so bad for Okuno!! Why didn't anyone ever want to listen to him? I would totally listen to him and tell him that he's an amazing kid with a kind heart and those awful judgmental and discriminating parents of his do not deserve him.
Ino, the sidekick for Sakuragi totally annoyed me. She really talked too much.
I still don't quiet understand why I liked it so much even with so many flaws. I just know that it was a good entertaining drama with a believable plot and unique characters. It showed me once again that reaching the impossible is quiet possible and challenging yourself is very important. It's also essential to learn and become stronger to survive in this world (and the first step in that is admitting that you are in fact weak, right?^^)
So cute!
So hot!
So pretty!
So hot!
Who cares about slightly weird hair when Yamapi is in a tank top? *_*
