I've been getting back into J-Dramas recently as the current shows on TV I find are a little lackluster and stereotypical.
I realize I am probably 6 years too late in my review but one of the benefits of watching and reviewing now is that all the episodes are available online with subtitles so you can just keep watching episodes straight through to the end.
Summary
The series is about a 27 year old Yakuza heir named Makio Sakaki. He was born into the gang life and it is all he knows. The problem is that he has run from school his entire life and is not very bright. His lack of intelligence has caused him to ruin many business deals with the gang. His father tells Makio that if he wants to succeed him as the next Boss of the gang he needs to go back to high school and graduate. We follow Makio through his journey posing as a 17 year old high school student, determined to graduate and become Boss of the gang.
Review
When I first read the summary of the series I have to admit I was not interested in the slightest. Although, I kept seeing other people list this series as one of the top 10 J-Dramas they have seen. So I told myself I would at least watch one episode to see if its interesting. I am glad I decided to try the series because after the first episode I was immediately hooked!
Makio Sakaki is played by Tomoya Nagase and in every episode he just spews hotness. Especially when he's dressed as the young Yakuza master.
Tomoya Nagase did an amazing job with this charachter. Every episode was laugh out loud funny. One of the parts that stands out to me the most was when Makio gets bullied by a 17 year old kid. The mere thought of a Yakuza heir getting bullied by a punk kid makes me laugh. The facial expressions that Tomoya Nagase is able to pull off really made the series funny.
In high school Makio becomes best friends with Jun Sakaurakoji who Makio simply calls 'Sakura-something' because he cant seem to remember his name. Makio also falls in love for the first time in his life. He's the guy that can get a 100 out of a 100 woman but whenever he's around his love interest he gets flustered. You would think that the series would follow the cliche of falling in love with the teacher (who he calls Iron-face) but instead he falls in love with a fellow classmate Hikari Umemura. Makio is unable to comprehend the feeling he is having and constantly clutches at his chest as if he is slowly dying. One of my all time favorite lines of the series (albeit its the subtitled translation) is when Makio gets to hold the hand of the girl he has feelings for but instead of relishing in the feeling he runs off clutching his chest and screams, "What is this? Is this what you call first love you bastard!"
The series is very funny but there are many times when the story pulls at your heart strings. You get a glimpse of the first moments Makio experiences, his first friendships, his first love, the feeling of happiness. Being born into the gang life your reminded that these are all experiences he's been robbed of. Often times he fantasizes about living a legit life and being able to keep the friends he's made but he always brushes it off and reminds himself that its an unobtainable dream. He's the heir to the Yakuza after all.
The series is only 10 episodes long which is a bit bitter sweet and it leaves it somewhat open ended. I may be in the minority here but I really liked Makio and Hikari together. I've browsed many reviews and some people mentioned it was creepy due to the age gap. The age difference is only 10 years its not as if he's Hugh Hefners age, now that would be creepy. Hikari is going to be going to college and Makio has always treated her with respect. In one of the scenes he tells his gang buddies, "Even for just for a second I want to be with her and protect her, see her smile. Thats all." And for us ladies that like that type of guy, swoon alert!!! At the end of the series he did say that one day when she's older they can go on another date.
So far this is at the top of my list for favorite J-Drama. For the simple fact that each episode was laugh out loud funny and well written.
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