Itazura na Kiss new adaptation!!
A new adaptation of the popular shojo manga, Itazura na Kiss!! Who's excited? \\^o^//
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BF%E3%82%BA%E3%83%A9%E3%81%AA%EF%BC%AB%EF%BD%89%EF%BD%93%EF%BD%93Love-in-TOKYO/570489312962296
CAST
Miki Honoka (16) as Aihara Kotoko
Furukawa Yuki (25) as Irie Naoki
Yamada Yuki (22) as Kinnosuke (Kin-chan)
Nishimura Tomomi as Naoki's mother
Imoaraizaka Kakaricho as Naoki's father
Aizawa Yuga as Naoki's brother
Tanaka Yoji as Kotoko's father
The 1996 adaptation was what has turned me into a J-Drama freak.
Thanks to it, my first love in the J-drama world was Kassy (Kashiwabara Takashi)^^ I really love the drama that time, it was hillarious, imho. And while many audience felt so irritated with Sato Aiko's portrayal as Kotoko. I really had no problem with her. Maybe because I didn't know the original manga/anime Kotoko that time. But I have a feeling I'd still love Sato Aiko's Kotoko even though I read the manga beforehand. I thought she was hillarious and I definitely didn't find her annoying at all like how people say abt her. She broke the stereotype, typical female lead character image in romantic comedies. She had good chemistry with Kassy too.
If I rewatch it again now, though... I'd realize there are alot of much better shojo manga dramas now than the 1996 ItaKiss, but it will always hold a special place in my heart, because if not of cause the 96 ItaKiss, I won't meet LoveGene-KimuraMatsu, hence... I wouldn't have find my way to SMAP ;P
The 1996 Kotoko and Naoki were the only ItaKiss couple who got to meet the manga author, Tada Kaoru-sensei, before she passed away three years later.
I'm definitely all for a modern Japanese adaptation! I want to see the story once again set in Japan, and in this hi-tech era^^
I want to see the authentic Japanese ramen shop (run by Kotoko's father) again, and other Japanese culture elements in the manga, like Kin-chan's Kansai dialect.
Miki Honoka's 16th birthday on the set of ItaKiss with Kotoko's look.
I got excited when I found out Miki Honoka is the lead. I really liked her in "Suzuki-sensei", she didn't have that big of a role in that drama
but she stole my attention and I think she has potential to be a star. I didn't know her name until I read the ItaKiss news. Really looking
forward to her performance as Kotoko. Hopefully she can be more well-received by the audience than Sato Aiko XD
Furukawa Yuki blogging from the set of ItaKiss.
I don't know about this guy as Irie Naoki though. He don't have much of the look to be Naoki. I know I shouldn't compare him with Kashiwabara Takashi, but oh well... I will give him a chance... I read that he's a Keio university graduate, was a research student in New York and that he speaks very good english, I guess that's why he was casted? I wonder if this means the British girl, Christine Robbins will appear in the drama? It's kinda creepy to know the 2 leads are 9 years apart though... will it be legal for him to be kissing the underaged Miki Honoka onscreen? lol.
The rest of the cast looks so far so good, esp. Naoki's father, haha... resembles the manga/anime character a lot! Can't wait for more cast announcement. And I'm a bit surprised that it's gonna be 1 hour long time slot... midnight shows usually run 30mins. It might cover many plots from the manga if its gonna be 16 eps. So far I found out, that Sudou-sempai will appear in the drama, and Furukawa Yuki is currently practicing tennis. So, the tennis club part will definitely be covered, something that was totally missing from the 1996 drama.
A bit worried though, knowing the director is a female named Nagata Koto and the screenwriter is Miura Uiko, two unfamiliar names in the Jdrama world. The production team is SPO Entertainment who usually arranges broadcasts and releases of Korean and Taiwanese dramas in Japan, one of the reason why this ItaKiss 2013 drama will immediately be broadcasted in those 2 countries. I think this would be their first time producing an original drama. But then again, Ouran drama was also handled by newbie director and crews, but it turned out wonderful. So I won't shut down any expectation.
I've watched the anime, and I loved it alot! However... Kotoko and Naoki got married in such a young age wasn't believable to me, and to know that Kotoko wanted to become a nurse AFTER they got married, was a bit awkward. I prefer the 1996 plot... to me, it made much better sense, that they decided to be a doctor and a nurse before they're married... esp. for Kotoko... and I like the fact that Kotoko had to be separated from Naoki (entered a nurse school far from Tokyo)... it showed that her world doesn't only centered around Naoki (though her purpose WAS so that she can work close to him in the future, lol).... I like that better rather than the original where Kotoko-Naoki always stick close together... (they were even in the same university?? puh-leeze...)
But then again..... in the anime, I love that little scene when Naoki accompanied Kotoko checking the nurse faculty entrance exam result ... and Kotoko found out Naoki came home early so he can keep his promise about the date. It was really cute. hahaha... I can't make up my mind! I guess the 1996 drama and anime has it's own plus and minus, lol.
I love the anime opening song so much! "kimi, meguru, boku" by Hata Motohiro. And it's currently on a repeat-mode on my cellphone ♥
I haven't watch the Taiwanese and Korean version though. Which one would you recommend?
I saw glimpses of them in Youtube. Ariel Lin looks great as Kotoko, I'd really like to see her portayal as Kotoko, but I don't like Joe Cheng (looks and acting). Sounds like the Taiwanese drama is the public's favorite though. But there are 62 episodes... doesn't the story drag?
The Korean cast looked the parts, I really like how they look. The girl can sometime be unattractive, but sometime pretty too! I find that amusing! She definitely suit Kotoko (in terms of looks). And seem she has great chemistry with the guy... but it looks like they have terrible acting skill? Only judging from a short clip in youtube though. The girl's school uniform looks like what AKB48 would wear for stage performances, lol. It's too much for me.
The Taiwanese and Korean adaptation follows the manga story closely, I heard. Hopefully ItaKiss 2013 can bring on a good, unexpected twist, but not straying too much from the manga.