Para Vocês na Flor da Idade (2007)

Story: I thought the story was really funny. In real life I would consider Ashiya a crazy fan stalking her idol and wonder why Izumi would like that. But this isn’t real life and that’s what makes it funny. The drama is meant to be crazy and funny, not realistic. I really enjoyed watching the fights that Ashiya and Sano would get into, as well as the drama that went on in the school: the dorms fighting, teachers accusing students of cheating, competitions. You’re never bored with this drama. You’re always going to wonder what the hell will go on in the next episode? What other oddities will be displayed? What else can go wrong?

Music: I liked that the music was instrumental. It added a very upbeat feeling to the scenes.

Cast/Acting: I started watching this show because of Oguri Shun, my favorite Japanese Actor. I had seen him in Crows Zero, a bad ass fighting movie, as well as Hana Yori Dango, where he didn’t get the girl, and was extremely curious as to how he would do as the main love interest in a very funny romantic comedy. He didn’t disappoint.

Neither did Horikita Maki. She did just as good here as she did in her other dramas (Innocent Love, Atashinchi no Danshi). The best, in my opinion, was Ikuta Toma who played Nakatsu. He really fit the role of his character and honestly, he is the most funny out of everyone.

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This what got me into J-dramas. This show right here. This what introduced me to so many actors & actresses. Like Oguri Shun,Horikita Maki, Ikuta Toma, Yamamoto Yusuke, Mizushima Hiro, Iwasa Mayuko & probably more actors.

Story: 10/10 because what can I say? This is my first j-drama after all. My first gender bender story-I think so. The plot was well-written in my personal opinion.

Acting: 10/10 because it was very comedic & I thought they got into their roles well. I've read the manga, & I like this version very much so. I couldn't choose between Sano & Nakatsu to be with Mizuki.

Music: 7/10 some of the BGMs are memorable to be like "be silent", and some were catchy theme songs, but not as memorable.

Rewatch value: 10/10 this was an amazing story. I would rewatch this drama over & over when I have time. I've watched this 3-4 times already.

If you like gender-bender stories, frienship, romantic-comedies, or plain old comedy, then you'll like this drama for sure.

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I just finished watching To The Beautiful You, the Korean adaptation, and it was interesting to see the differences between the two. I personally enjoyed this one more.

The story isn't original, but the way it's executed is what hooks you. This drama is definitely more of a comedy than anything else, and I was grinning throughout most of it. They focused even less of the sports than in TTBY, but the dorm competitions were absolutely entertaining and I was glad to see them prevalent.

The romance was cute, though I hoped the side romance with Nakatsu would have been more prominent than it was. There was less head banging and "oh my god Jae Hee" than in TTBY, however.

The actors I enjoyed watching, and all of the relationships seemed very real and believable. I definitely was crying at the end. A lot.

Personally, I liked this Mizuki much more than TTBY's Mizuki--Goo Jae Hee--perhaps because she seemed more convincing as a boy. Nakatsu's Korean counterpart, Cha Eun Gyeol, seemed more involved than Nakatsu.

All of the characters were great nevertheless. Kind of disappointed that Gilbert wasn't involved though.

This one had a faster pace though, probably because the episodes are shorter, and there are only twelve. It did pretty well with keeping consistent though.

The music I liked--especially the opening. Wasn't a big factor though.

I would definitely rewatch it, probably because of how lighthearted it is. It's more comedic than TTBY, which definitely would make it more fun to rewatch.

I loved it, honestly. Both versions I've seen were great, but this one wins, perhaps because of the humor. Definitely would say this is a must watch.

Now off to the Taiwanese version, and the remake. ;)

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This is a drama that I finished some time back. It's definitely not one of my favorites, but it has good entertainment value. I thought the plot was not that strong to begin with but the execution of the show overall was pretty good.

It has mostly light moments and some of them really make you laugh. While I am not happy with the romance in this, it still gives some very unforgettable scenes between Nakatsu and Ashiya. While gender bender scenario was funny here too, in spite of that almost all the characters fell flat. Sano had no character development at all except for one point which was that he started doing what he used to before. Other than getting inspired and jumping, he really provided with no entertainment at all. I wasn't that big a fan of Ashiya, but her strong determination wins her points. My favorite character was of course- Nakatsu. He is colorful, loving and funny at the same time. He is probably going to remain one of my favorites from jdramas forever. Almost all memorable scenes I recall from this show have Nakatsu in them. His unconditional love for Ashiya till the end really moved me because it was so sweet. He was always there for her no matter what.

However, if you would want to watch this show- only watch it for the comedy. The romance was disappointing. Maybe if I had liked Sano I would have loved his relationship with Ashiya too but as I said- I like Nakatsu all the way. And I don't know what to rate the soundtrack because I cannot recall any tunes from the show.

Anyway, the rewatch value is still intact because of my favorite Nakatsu and Ashiya moments.

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This was an amazing drama and the special was not in the least bit disappointing. I first got to watch this in Japanese class, and the whole class was hooked from the first episode. The story has a lot going on, so you don't really get a chance to become bored with it. This series has such a strange sense of humor that I've not seen anywhere else before. Maybe it's just the perfect timing, but there were numerous points where I had to catch my breath out of laughter before continuing to watch. The acting was great. Yeah, there were some cheezy moments which were really overacted, but it made the characters more profound and realistic somehow. You can't help but like each and every character because they each have their own little quirks. The music was enjoyable, but not something you'll remember for years. It's definitely something you can watch again. Overall, a good series and an enjoyable time!

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Overall I would have to say that I enjoyed this drama. I really liked how funny and cute it was. I had actually watched To the Beautiful You, the Korean version of this story beforehand, and if I had to compare the two, I would say that, again, overall, I did technically enjoy this version better simply because of a all the wacky dorm challenges and interactions of the various secondary characters.

Now,if I enjoyed this drama as much I claim, why did I end up rating it a rather mediocre 7 you may ask? It's simple. Oguri Shun. As the main male character, I felt his acting was extremely weak. In fact, at no point in the whole drama did I actually feel he was conveying any semblance of a personality whatsoever. He seemed bored and uninterested in being there the whole time. Some may argue that is just the character of Sano, but I disagree. It never changes, even after the point where Sano is supposed to start feeling and expressing more interest. There is also no chemistry between he and the lead actress at all, either romantically or friendly. There's just no chemistry on screen at all when he is in the scene, no matter what kind of scene it is, period.

Would I recommend this drama this drama to others? Yes, but with the strong warning about how terrible Oguri Shun's acting is. Everything else is actually really good, but one will have to be willing to overlook the lead male's shortcomings I think.

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